Book 40 - If I Die Young
by GailDunn2
Summary: WARNING: MAY CONTAIN ADULT CONTENT. Changes are in store for the Winchester brothers and their extended family. Birth, death, marriage, and ominous Prophecies. Old enemies return, some more dangerous than others.
1. Only Begotten Son

Chapter 1 - Only Begotten Son

Nicole stared down at Dean, open-mouthed. He had taken her completely by surprise.

As his girlfriend tried to get her brain to form a coherent sentence, Dean felt like he was on a highwire at the circus. He'd only proposed a couple of seconds ago, he was sure, but this was the longest few seconds of his life. Nobody ever told you how time just suddenly ground to a halt when you were waiting for the answer.

Nicole touched his face. "Oh, Dean," she said softly. "No."

He froze in place. Wait, what? "No?" he said, bewildered. "No?"

"You don't want to get married," she told him gently.

"I don't?" Dean was the one who was astounded now. What the hell? This never happened in the movies.

"No. No, you don't." Nicole was trying not to laugh, fearing he would misunderstand. She knew it took a lot of courage for a guy to propose. But he should see the look on his face. "Please, have a seat. Please," she said.

Dean rose slowly from his knee and sat back down in the chair. He looked at the ring box as if he'd never seen it before, then put it on the table.

Nicole poured them each another shot, gesturing. They threw it back, and then Nicole put her hand on Dean's, on top of the table.

"Come on, Dean," she said, still speaking softly. "You don't really want to get married. I know you. You just think that's something I need from you. You've been thinking that, since Sam's going to be a father, and Cas is married, you should move forward. You've been thinking that life is too short. And, you're regretting that you never became a dad when you might have had the chance. Am I in the ballpark?"

He stared at her, speechless. Finally, he nodded. That was exactly what he had been thinking. All of it. Every word.

"But you never really HAD the chance, Dean," Nicole continued. She gave his hand a squeeze. "What happened with Lisa and Ben wasn't your fault. I know you blame yourself for that whole thing. I know you blame yourself for a lot of things. But, you couldn't help the choices that your parents made, any more than you could help everything that happened after."

Tears prickled in Dean's eyes now. What the hell? When was the last time that anybody had ever said anything like that to him? No wonder he loved her. And he could tell that she loved him, too. She had loved him enough to say no.

"I'm releasing you," Nicole said to him now, and Dean blinked back the tears. He tried to smile. "What? You're dumping me?" he said in a hoarse voice.

Nicole smiled gently. "No. I'm RELEASING you. There's a difference. I'm releasing you from any obligation you might feel towards me. Look, Dean, I love you, and you love me. That much is obvious. But, neither one of us wants to get married right now. Isn't that true?"

Dean had a lump in his throat, so all he could do was nod. And that lump doubled in size when Nicole kept on going:

"You've felt responsible for Sam all your life, and even though I'm an only child, I get that. But you've done your job, Dean. You did it a long time ago. Sam is a grown man, with his own choices to make. You had to be both parents for him when the two of you were growing up. And, like many parents, you don't want to see him make mistakes that are going to screw up his life. But you don't get to make that call, Dean. If Sam decides that he wants to be a father, that's HIS call, not yours. You can get mad all you want, but you know it's true." She reached out and put her hand on his again. "Try not to feel too badly, Dean. You're a hero, in very many ways. Especially for Sam. Despite impossible conditions, you raised him to be the kind of man who takes responsibility for himself, and his actions. YOU did that. So, in a way, you've been a dad all along."

And here came the damn waterworks again. Dean sat there, weeping silently as Nicole held his hand. "Just let me have my say, and then I'll ask you for the world's most epic hug," Nicole said, trying to make him smile. "In fact, if you want, we can comfort each other's brains out." Dean burbled out a laugh, and Nicole nodded. Good enough.

"You know, I considered just moving in here, and leaving it all behind," Nicole told him. "A lot of us are realizing all too well these days that life is too damn short, aren't we? I've been thinking for a while now that I'm not really that happy with my life any more. I know, I know. I'm crazy. I live in a beautiful city, and I have an amazing job. But, like my Grandpa used to say, for every silver cloud, there's a dark lining. I'm not even kidding; that's what he used to say. I would ask him what he meant by that, and he would just say I'd find out when I was older. And now, I think I might have an inkling of what he was getting at. Vancouver is so expensive to live in, and the movie industry is so jaded. When we first started out as a little TV show that hardly anybody watched, we felt like we were doing something truly groundbreaking. And I guess we were, in a way. But now, nearly all the friends I had back then have moved on, and sometimes I get sick of shaking sand out of my underpants, and scratching exotic bug bites. I've been wanting to start a new chapter in my life for a while now. But I've been struggling to figure out what that should be. Now, I think I know."

"OK, I'll bite: what?" Dean said. He'd knuckled away the tears as she'd been talking. He realized now that she'd been giving him the opportunity to let his emotions out, without any comment or judgement. That was exactly what he had needed.

"I'm going to join a convent, and become a nun," Nicole replied. As Dean's eyes started to widen, she continued, "And I'll join the choir, and we can turn some of the hymns into some hip numbers, and then the Pope will come and see us in Reno, and...oh, wait. That's the plot of Sister Act." Dean was staring at her now, and Nicole laughed merrily. "Sorry; I couldn't resist. You should see your face right now. Are you kidding? Let Cas and Gail be the Angels. I love what we do between the sheets way too much to ever give it up. Even if it meant I'd get to perform in Vegas."

Dean rolled his eyes. "Bad example," he said, playing along. "Believe me, Cas and Gail don't give any of that stuff up. I oughta know. I have to look at it every damn day. Especially lately. I mean...you know what I mean." He and Nicole shared a smile. "So, seriously, what did you decide to do?" he asked her.

"I'm going to go back," Nicole said, "and I'm going to GIVE back. As soon as I've got things wrapped up here, I'm going to go back to my job. Despite everything I just said, I still love what I do. I'm just going to do more with my life. I'll talk to Richard and some of the guys about their charity work, and figure out where I might be the most use. So, I guess I'm KIND of going to be like a nun," she added teasingly.

"I sure hope NOT," Dean responded in the same tone, "'cause I could never make the kind of suggestion I'm gonna make in a minute to a nun. That is, if you still want to - "

Nicole nodded. "Oh, I still want to, believe me. That wasn't what I was saying. I just meant that neither of us is interested in a long-term, committed relationship right now. But I do love you, Dean, and I always will. I'm perfectly fine with the way things are now. I love it when we get together, both in bed, and out. When I said I was releasing you, I only meant that I don't want you to feel any obligation, here. If you want to see other women, go ahead. I won't hold you back. Really. I don't want you to look back with regret. If, somewhere down the road, you meet a woman you honestly want to commit to, I don't want to be the obstacle that stands in your way. And, who knows? Maybe we'll both feel differently about things in a few years. But I don't want you to wait for that, because it may never happen. I want you to live your best life, Dean. If that happens to be with someone else, well, I'll just have to hire somebody to kick me in the ass all day long, for the rest of my life, for being so stupid."

Dean looked at her. She wasn't a nun; she was a Saint.

"What are YOU going to do?" she asked him softly.

"Huh?"

Nicole smiled again. "While I'm out there trying to make the world a better place in my spare time, what will YOU be doing?"

"The same thing," Dean responded, but she was staring at him now, so he sighed and added, "Being a damn uncle, I guess. That's what I'll be doing."

"There you go," Nicole remarked. "Now, what do you say we go upstairs and do some of those non-nunlike activities we were both thinking about?"

The next morning was bittersweet. The two of them dressed and went downstairs, and Nicole made them coffee and breakfast. The house was peaceful now, thank goodness. As they ate, Nicole was looking through some more of the documents that Sam had brought downstairs from the attic.

"I don't believe it," she said.

"What?" Dean said.

"My grandfather's Will. Finally!" she exclaimed. She scanned it for a moment. "Looks like I just became the owner of a drafty but non-haunted house, thanks to you guys. And there's the name of a law office, downtown. Hallelujah. I can wrap this up, and get back home." She looked at Dean over the rim of her coffee cup. "Thanks again for everything."

Dean smiled. "Everything?" he said, raising an eyebrow.

"OK, well, YOU should be thanking ME for that particular thing," she quipped. Then Nicole's smile faded. "Are we OK, Dean? I want us to be OK."

"We're OK," he assured her. "And, just so you know, I'm gonna take that ring box and lock it up in the safe at the bunker."

She nodded. Fair enough. "Well, my Grandpa also said, 'never say never, because never might come sooner than you think'."

"Who WAS your grandfather? Yogi Berra?" Dean joked, and they shared a laugh.

Once they finished breakfast, Dean gave Nicole a hug, and a lingering kiss. "I love you," he told her.

"Right back at you," she replied. "Let's just say 'so long', instead of goodbye. Agreed?"

"Agreed," Dean said. "Cas is gonna be here in a minute, but I told him to meet me outside, so we can take the rental car back."

Nicole nodded. Dean had told her at breakfast that he was going to do that, because Cas would be freaking out, fawning all over the two of them, and Dean didn't want Nicole to be put on the spot like that. When Dean had accompanied Sam out to the car to get their bags the night before, he had told his brother that he was going to propose. That was why the two of them had spent a couple of extra minutes out there, hugging it out, and why they had been grinning like fools when they had come back in. Dean was willing to bet a million bucks that Sam had told Cas and Gail, as soon as they'd left.

"So unless you want Cas showing up here, weeping, carrying a stack of bridal magazines, I'd better meet him outside," Dean said to Nicole now, but he was smirking when he said it. He and Nicole had talked a lot of things out the night before, and he'd meant it when he'd said that they were fine. He still loved her, and he respected her a helluva lot for setting him straight. He'd proposed to her for all the wrong reasons, and Nicole had been smart enough to realize that. But he'd also meant what he'd said about stashing the ring in the safe.

"I feel like I should apologize to Cas," Nicole quipped.

"Maybe you should. It'd be a big help," Dean responded in kind.

"Seriously, give him and Gail my love," Nicole said. "And keep me posted on the baby, and Jody, and everybody. OK?"

"I will," Dean said. He kissed her again. "And, YOU give ME a call if this place gets re-haunted. Or for any other reason."

They shared one more kiss, and then Dean picked up his bag and left the house. Nicole sighed, closing the door behind him. The only person who was going to be haunting any place she lived in from now on was Dean, she thought sadly. But the decision had been the right one. She knew it had.

She walked back to the kitchen to give the law office a call.

For everyone else but Vincent, the months had flown by. It was March now, and Becky was seven months' pregnant. She was as big as a house, and she was finding it difficult to get around. She'd given up trying to climb the stairs to her bedroom, because it took too much effort. So Sam had made the obvious offer: she should move into the bunker for the remainder of her term.

Vincent was helping Becky pack. Sam was going to be there in an hour to pick her up, and Vincent wanted to be sure that she had her instructions before that happened. Once his Little Mother was ensconced in the bunker, she would be unavailable to him, at least physically. But that shouldn't really matter, now.

Becky was very excited, but she was a little nervous, too. Dean had been a lot less mean about it lately, but she knew that he still wasn't very happy about the situation. Gail, too. But Sam and Cas had been very kind, and they had assured Becky that she and the baby were welcome.

She felt a little insecure about leaving Vincent behind, too. He'd told her he wouldn't be coming around anymore. Once she and Sam had the baby, Becky wouldn't need Vincent's help, anyway. He was going to go back to the Caribbean, where he had a family of his own, he said. In fact, he didn't want her to tell anybody about the special relationship that they had had. His name was never to be mentioned. Did she understand?

Becky didn't, not really, but she knew Vincent well enough to know that he didn't like it when she asked him too many questions. And, even though her moral compass pointed mainly to the south these days, Becky realized that it was in her best interests not to bring up the subject of Vincent, and how he had helped her seduce Sam, back in the fall.

But before he left, Vincent wanted to try something. Would she grant him one last indulgence? He put his hands on her abdomen, telling her he wanted to feel the baby move. Becky had said he could go ahead. After all, he was kind of like the baby's unofficial godfather, anyway.

Vincent giggled at that, and then he lifted her top and put his hands on her bare tummy. He said the spell in his head, and he was rewarded with a couple of kicks. His son had gotten the message.

"I'll be leaving now," Vincent said, replacing her top over her stomach. "Take care, Little Mother. And make sure Sam takes care of you."

He kissed her gently on the forehead, and then he was gone.

A week later, Gail walked into the kitchen of the bunker. She slammed the tray she was carrying down on the counter, and Dean looked at her inquiringly.

"Her Highness doesn't like the eggs," she said tartly. "Now, she wants French toast. I don't even know how to MAKE French toast."

Dean smirked. Better Gail than him. Ever since Becky had moved into the bunker, she had been a bitch on wheels. Sam and Cas usually dealt with her, but they were out shopping, and Gail had drawn the short straw. "Just put a couple of slices of bread in the toaster, dip 'em in the sugar bowl, and throw them at her," he wisecracked.

"Don't tempt me," Gail said, rolling her eyes. "I mean, I've heard about pregnancy mood swings, but this is ridiculous."

Becky WAS having mood swings, but she was also very, very tired. Ever since she had moved into the bunker, the baby had been kicking practically non-stop. And the dreams had returned, the ones where she mixed Vincent up with Sam, and Gail and Dean were hiding in dark corners, holding knives, plotting to kill her and the baby. Then somebody would knock at her bedroom door and ask her if she was OK, or if she was hungry, and she would bark at them. She didn't really mean to, Becky told herself. She really didn't. She was just tired, and a little scared.

But it ran a lot deeper than that. Before Vincent had left her house, when he had laid his hands on her, he had put a spell on her that would guarantee protection for his son. Just in case things got out of hand at the bunker, Becky would do anything she had to, to ensure that the little Voodoo Prince she had in her belly would be born, safe and sound. Anything.

The baby was likely so restless because it had almost completely taken over now. But, unlike Vincent, the infant could reside in the bunker because it had Becky as its mother. And, conversely, Becky was able to reside in the bunker because she had a theretofore innocent child inside her. But neither party was resting very comfortably at the moment.

Also, Becky was hungry all the time, but she wasn't happy with anything Sam or the others fed her, because it was all so...cooked. She missed the blood, and the fresh meat. But Vincent had told her that she had to cut that stuff out once she moved into the bunker, because they wouldn't understand. So she had tried to eat other things, but everything tasted so strange to her now.

Finally, she had broken down and asked Sam if he could go to a butcher shop to get some fresh organs for her. Hearts, livers, kidneys...anything along those lines. The bloodier, the better. Sam had made a disgusted face. Who the hell ate stuff like that? But then Cas had ridden metaphorically to Becky's rescue and told Sam that many people ate animal organs, even those who weren't undergoing pregnancy cravings. So he had offered to accompany Sam to a butcher shop and help the younger Winchester with his purchases.

As Becky lay catnapping in bed, Cas and Sam returned from their errand.

"Thank goodness you're back," Gail said, rising from her seat opposite Dean at the kitchen table. "Momzilla wants French toast, and I don't know how to make that."

Dean smirked again. Momzilla? That had been pretty good, actually. Worthy of him, even.

"But we just got back from Glotman's Butchers, on 5th," Sam said, putting the grocery bags on the counter.

Gail shrugged. "I don't know, Sam. I give up. Maybe you should go see what she wants."

Sam sighed. Then he headed on down the hall as Dean said, "Uh, Cas...the bags are bleeding."

"That just means the organs are fresh," Cas remarked. He put his arm around Gail, giving her a quick kiss. Then he looked at Dean. "How are you doing?" he asked his friend.

Dean let out a frustrated breath. Every damn time. Ever since Cas had picked him up at Nicole's grandfather's house in February and Dean had had to break the bad news that he and Nicole had decided not to be engaged after all, Cas had been devastated. Even Sam had taken the news with more equanimity. So now every time Cas saw Dean, he asked him how he was doing. Every. Single. Time. It was driving Dean nuts. But on the plus side, Cas and Gail had cut down on their PDAs around him, presumably in deference to his feelings. So, there was that.

"I'm fine, Cas. I told you I was fine before you and Sam left for the store, and I'm fine now," Dean said irritably.

"Wow," Sam said, returning to the kitchen. "What did you SAY to her, Gail?"

She looked at him sharply. "What? What do you mean?"

"She said she was tired, and I should just leave her alone," Sam said, bewildered. "She said we keep bugging her, when all she wants to do is rest."

For an instant, Gail entertained a sweet, sweet fantasy of picking up the breakfast tray, stalking down the hallway, and bashing Becky's brains out with it. But only for a second, or three. Gail was supposed to be an Angel, after all.

"OK, well, you know what?" Dean said. "Why don't you just put whatever you bought there in the fridge, before it comes all the way alive and attacks us all? I'm gonna go watch a movie. You want to come with, Cas? You can help me mend my broken heart while I watch something with lots and lots of explosions."

Gail's lips twitched. "You guys go ahead. I want to talk to Sam for a minute."

The men left the room, and Sam said, "I know what you're going to say."

"Do you?" Gail said coolly.

Sam grabbed the bags, preparing to put them in the fridge, as Dean had suggested. But then, he noticed that some blood had leaked from them onto the counter, and now there was more blood leaking onto the floor. "Dammit!" he exclaimed. He tried grabbing the bags on the bottom, but now, his hands were all bloody. And it was then, naturally, that his cell phone began to ring, and that was in his shirt pocket.

"Could you...?" he said to Gail. She walked over to him and he bent down so she could take the phone out of his pocket. She looked at the Display.

"Who is it?" Sam asked her, putting the bloody bags in the sink.

"I don't know. There's no name, and I don't recognize the number," she replied. "Do you want me to answer it?"

"Yeah, would you, please? I have to clean this up."

"Hello?" Gail said into the phone. Silence on the other end. "Hello?" she said, more loudly. Another pause, and then whoever had been on the other end hung up. "That's strange," she remarked. "They hung up. Maybe it was a wrong number, but they could have at least said something."

Sam was washing his hands with soap and water. She was likely right, but...he was curious, now. He dried his hands on the dish towel.

"Can I see that, for a second?" he said. Gail handed Sam his phone. "I have a reverse trace set up," he told her, pushing a button. "It'll say where the call came from." He waited for a moment. "Exeter, North Carolina," Sam said a moment later. "Why does that sound familiar?"

"Exeter?!" Gail exclaimed. "That's where Abigail lives."

"Your mother? Why would she be calling me?" Sam puzzled.

"I don't know, but we're going to find out," Gail said. She headed down the hallway to get Cas.

It had taken this long for Abigail to get up the nerve, but she had finally picked up the phone. But her daughter didn't have a cell phone, and Abigail was reluctant to call Castiel directly. So she had called Sam, instead. And she'd been so surprised when Gail had answered that she'd hung up.

But that was stupid. She should have just spoken to Gail. That was why Abigail had reached out, after all: to give them the information. She'd been just about to dial again when there was a knock at her door. Abigail smiled wryly. Of course. They were Angels, weren't they? And Sam Winchester was a very smart man.

She sighed, opening the door. Gail had brought Castiel with her. Not that Abigail could blame her daughter, really. She hadn't been the most hospitable of people when they'd come to see her, before. But she was trying to work on that.

So Abigail invited them to come in. She even thanked them for coming. Castiel was looking at her warily, standing in-between Abigail and Gail.

"You don't have to do that," Gail's mother said to him, bemused.

"Why did you call? What do you want?" Cas asked her, and Abigail bristled. "Does my daughter have laryngitis?" she asked him tartly.

Cas was taken aback. In that moment, the mother had sounded so much like the daughter that he'd almost smiled. Almost. But he couldn't let himself relax around this woman. When he and Gail had come to see her here before, she had threatened Gail. Just as everyone else in his poor wife's family seemed wont to do.

"No, I don't, but I'm also wondering why you called Sam, and then hung up when I answered the phone," Gail said.

Abigail sighed. "Because I almost lost my nerve. I'm about to do something that would make Vincent very angry."

"Oh? And what's that?" Gail asked, curious.

"This," Abigail said. She took a flash drive out of her pocket and extended it towards her daughter. "Take it. Please. Before I change my mind."

"What is it?" Gail asked her mother, but she took it.

"Those are the files from Cathy Scanlon's office," Abigail responded.

Cas's forehead wrinkled. "We already have those," he stated.

"No, you don't," she remarked. "These are the COMPLETE files. All of his children. Names, ages, locations...everything."

"Why are you giving us this, and why now?" Gail said suspiciously.

Abigail sighed again. "I know you don't have any reason to trust me. But the simple truth is that Vincent needs to be stopped."

"OK, so...?" Gail said, gesturing with the flash drive.

Abigail stared at her daughter. Then, being who she was, she started to smile. "Oh? And has your loving husband not shared that with you yet? I know he knows."

"What are you talking about?" Gail said irritably.

"Far be it from me to interfere in your marriage," Abigail said sarcastically. Now that she had done her good deed, her true colours were showing again. "Why don't the two of you have a nice, long talk about it? Just make sure you're fully aware of the implications of what your husband is already planning to do with the information. Now, get out."

Gail was astonished. How did this keep happening to her? "What is the MATTER with you people?" she said, screwing up her face in disgust. "You know, just once, I'd like to be able to get through a visit with one of my family members without feeling like I have to take five hot showers, afterwards. Then again, on the bright side, at least you didn't threaten to kill me this time. In our family, that's like a Hallmark moment."

Incredibly, Abigail's eyes narrowed. "Who threatened to kill you?"

Gail was beyond astonished now. She looked at Cas, relieved to see the same expression on his face. "Oh, I don't know. Try, everybody?" Gail said to her mother, her voice heavy with sarcasm. "You, Vincent, Andy, JD..."

"JD?" Abigail interrupted.

"Yes. He was one of Vincent's children," Cas chimed in. "He came to us at our house, claiming he wanted to establish a familial bond with Gail, so we allowed him to move in with us for a few days. But he showed his true nature very quickly, so we had to dispatch him."

Abigail's eyebrows shot up. "You killed him?"

"It's all right, Cas," Gail said, holding up her hand. "I"M actually the one who killed him," she told her mother. "I had to do it. He was dangerous."

Abigail nodded slowly. "And what did you do with the body, afterwards?"

"Burned it," Cas said tersely.

Now, Abigail understood. So THAT was why Vincent had a big black scorch mark on his face. She had seen him in her visions, disfigured, but still smiling.

"Where IS Vincent, anyway?" Gail said suddenly, as if she were the psychic.

"How am I supposed to know?" Abigail said defensively.

"But you do know, don't you?" Cas pressed her.

"Take care of what's in those files, and you may never have to find out," she said nervously. "Just leave me out of it. When you burned JD's body, a black scorch mark appeared on Vincent's face, one that no spell of his has been able to erase. Now, that's all I'm going to tell you. I just hope he's too distracted with his latest project to figure out what I've done. Now, go!" She strode to the front door and flung it open, gesturing. The action was quite unnecessary for Angels, of course, but Abigail was just trying to emphasize her point. She was becoming more and more afraid, every second they were in her house. Just because she'd only led them to part of the solution, Vincent wouldn't care. If he found out she'd done even this much, she would die a slow, very painful death.

"Get out," Abigail repeated. The Angels left her home.

Predictably enough, Cas was furious. As Sam downloaded the information from the flash drive onto his computer, Cas was pacing the library room floor, stalking back and forth like one of his white tigers.

"What was Abigail talking about, Cas?" Gail asked her husband calmly, even though her stomach was fluttering.

"You're kidding, right?" Dean asked her. "You really don't know?"

"OK, maybe I just don't want to know," Gail said uneasily.

"It's all here," Sam said. "Just like she said. Names, ages, last known locations. Adoptive parents. There are even photos, in most cases."

Cas stopped pacing. "How many are there?"

"I'll have to print out a list and do a count," Sam said, scanning the computer screen. "If we get Rob and Eric to have a look at this too, and cull the ones who died in the compound - sorry, Gail - "

"How many?" Cas said again, his tone sharper this time.

"Probably thirty to fourty people, after we take those others out," Sam replied.

"Yeah? That's actually not that many," Dean remarked. "I was thinking that it might be in the hundreds, or something."

Gail looked at him. "So what? What does it matter?" She looked at Cas. "She said you knew something. What do you know?"

"I know the same thing you do," he said tonelessly. "The same thing we all know. We've all known it ever since the compound. Actually, we knew it even before that. The aftermath at the compound was just our proof. And, if Vincent now has a black scorch mark on his face from when Sam and I burned JD's body, that is further proof. In order for Vincent to die, all of his children must die, also."

Suddenly, the sound of a bell ringing from down the hallway. Sam sighed. They'd given Becky a bell to ring if she was hungry, or if she needed help getting out of bed. She was so big now that she spent most of her time in bed. Sam had put a TV in there for her, and bought her some magazines. But he stayed away from the fashion magazines. The first time he'd brought her a couple of those, they had come sailing back, towards his head. Apparently, Becky wasn't in the mood to look at beautiful, skinny women right now. Young women, whose modelling careers were advancing, while Becky's was likely over.

"I'll see what she wants," Sam said.

He headed off down the hall as Gail looked at Cas coolly. "So do you want to just take out your blade and knife me now, so we can knock another one off the list?" she said nastily. "I'm sure I won't cause even one little wrinkle on his forehead. He once told me that there was absolutely nothing special about me."

"Don't be ridiculous," Cas said, his lips pursing tightly together.

"No one's knifing anybody, here," Dean said, looking from Cas to Gail and then back again. Now he regretted his petty thoughts about them being affectionate with each other. This was worse.

"Cas just said that all of us have to die," Gail stated, looking at Dean. "There's not a lot of room there for interpretation."

"I didn't mean you, my love," Cas said, agitated. "I would never..." He rushed over to her, hovering over her uncertainly.

She looked up at him. "Did you, or did you not, say 'all' of his children?" she asked her husband.

"I suppose I did, but..."

"She just needed help getting out of bed to go to the bathroom," Sam said, coming back into the library. He stopped short, looking at all of their faces. "What's going on?"

"Ask Cas," Gail said, rolling her eyes. "I may or may not have to die. We'll get back to you on that."

As Cas sat down beside his wife, wondering if he should try to take her hand, Dean looked at her. "Why are you being so...?"

" - Bitchy?" Gail said bluntly. "Oh, I don't know. Let's see if we can figure that out. Maybe it's because we're sitting here discussing the world's stupidest...What? What would you even call it? A riddle? A dilemma? A Catch-22? We're not running around killing all those people! We're not. And even if we were going to entertain such a ridiculous notion, Eric and Rob are Vincent's kids, too, remember? There. Subject over. Case closed."

If Becky had gone to the library to ask for Sam's help in getting back to bed at that moment, things might have worked out differently. She would have overheard Gail using the name "Vincent" in the context of his children, and they could all have had a discussion about that, one that was vitally necessary for them all to have. But instead, she opted to go to the kitchen, where the bloody organs were sitting in the fridge on the bottom shelf, with paper towels underneath, to soak up the blood. She scooped a few out of the bag with both hands, stuffing them into her mouth. Then, as she closed the fridge door with her elbow, Becky noticed a mouse on the floor. It was just sitting there as if it was in some kind of a stupor, whiskers twitching. So she picked it up by the tail and bit it in half, relishing the taste of the fresh blood. She'd eaten quite a few mice back at her house, and when the traps had been empty, a few neighbourhood pets had mysteriously gone missing. But Vincent had been right: the baby always told her what it needed. And if a few animals had to be sacrificed here and there, so what? It was a small price to pay to get a happy and healthy baby.

Becky finished her mouse and then she went back to the washroom, washing her face and hands with warm, soapy water until all the blood was gone. Then she cut across the hall, to the weapons room.

"What do you mean? Of course we're not talking about killing Vincent's kids. Are we?" Sam said uneasily.

"Well, that's the subject, but it's not gonna happen. Right, Cas?" Dean said irritably. "Right?" he repeated, when Cas didn't answer right away. The Angel was Dean's best friend, but honestly, he could be so infuriating, sometimes. Why the hell would he even say such a dumbass thing? Now Gail was all wound up, and Dean couldn't blame her.

"No, of course not," Cas said unconvincingly.

"Good. Now, say it like you really mean it," Dean retorted.

"Of course we wouldn't do that," Cas said, and this time, he really did sound convincing. "I was merely saying - "

"I know what you were saying," Gail sighed. "And I'm sorry if I came off a little harsh. But, it's a touchy subject for me. I know I barely knew those people in the compound, but some of them were just kids, Cas. Either chronologically, or emotionally, like Ricky. He was a sweet and innocent person. None of them asked to be brought into the world with their particular talents, or afflictions, or whatever you want to call them. And they sure as hell didn't ask for the kind of father who was only too happy to disintegrate them, with just the push of a button."

"I know, my darling," Cas said sadly, taking her hand. "I know."

"What did Abigail say when you went there?" Sam asked the Angels, curious.

"We told you," Gail said earnestly. "She said Vincent had to be stopped. Well, duh. Then, blah blah, blah, passive-aggressive stuff, and then she told us to use the information in those files. That's about it. She wouldn't even tell us where he is right now. But I'm sure she knows."

"Use the information?" Sam said, looking thoughtful. "Maybe she meant something else, then. Maybe one of Vincent's other kids has the answer we're looking for. She mentioned JD, right?"

"Well, actually, I brought him up," Gail said, "but, it was weird: she said that when you and Cas burned JD's body, a black mark appeared on Vincent's face. I wonder if that means that some of his kids cause him more damage than others. Or am I just grasping at straws, here?"

No one could really answer that, but now, as Cas went through everything Abigail had said in his mind, his brow furrowed. "She also made mention of Vincent's 'latest project'," he mused. "I wonder what that could be?"

Once again, none of the group could even venture a guess. With a man like Vincent, it could be anything. Anything at all.

"I think we need to track down everybody in these files, once we eliminate those who died, of course," Sam stated. "Maybe there's another way."

Dean was nodding. "Sure. Sure there is. How many times have we been through this same kind of thing? Sam's right. We'll start looking for them, and see what we can find out."

Cas wasn't so sure. He did agree with Dean, to a certain extent. They had been through these kinds of dilemmas before, when it seemed as if the most brutal option would be the only option available to them. But then, either Sam or Dean would come up with their "other way". And, sometimes things would work out. But, more often than not, the so-called solution to the problem had, arguably, been worse than the original problem. And just exactly what was this "project" that Vincent had going on? What sort of havoc would he be allowed to wreak, while they sat around, brainstorming their "other way" of handling the problem?

But, in the end, there was no possible way that Cas could even think about implementing the obvious solution. If Gail, Rob and Eric had not been part of the equasion, he would have had to seriously consider it, whether the others were on board or not. Even his poor wife, who had suffered enough loss to last several lifetimes, let alone the eternity that Cas was going to ensure that she lived, no matter what he had to do to make that happen. Castiel was no longer the avenging Angel that his Father used to deploy, whenever it served His purposes to do so. Now, Castiel was Cas, and he was a loving husband, a brother, and an uncle. Even though his instincts told him that they would regret taking the more compassionate approach when it came to Vincent's children, the bottom line was that Cas could not be the one who would be responsible for their deaths. He simply couldn't do it. To even contemplate otherwise would be to turn his back on his family, and the man that he had become. He liked that man. And Gail loved that man.

He brought Gail's hand to his lips and kissed it gently. "We will find another way, my love. I'm sorry I said what I said," Cas told her. "I didn't mean it."

Becky was frustrated. In Sam's zeal to prepare the bunker for the baby's arrival, he had locked all the weapons up in the cabinet. She stood in front of it now, letting out a breath. Dammit! She felt like a hungry person who was looking through the window of a restaurant at all the food. All these weapons, and no way of getting to them. Actually, she might not even need one, Becky realized. Maybe she was getting a little bit carried away. But the dreams she had been having were so vivid. Dean and Gail whispering, conspiring to kill the baby. Her son was depending on her to keep him safe. But: what was real, and what wasn't? Her head was so scrambled right now, she didn't even know any more.

"So, it's agreed," Cas said. "We'll make a list of the people who are still out there, and then we will devise a plan to locate them. Depending on what we find, at least those individuals can be forewarned about what sort of being Vincent is, and that he is still out there."

"What good would THAT do?" Dean asked.

Gail shrugged. She'd been wondering the same thing herself. But Sam was nodding. "Then at least, if he decides to pull something else, they'll be on notice," the younger Winchester said. "If it was me, I'd rather know, so at least I could be on alert. There are some little kids in this file, Dean."

"Wait a second," Gail said. "When Rob and Eric and I were looking at the paper files, Rob said something about Benoit and Dr. Roarke, taking some kids with them when they left. So there's that, too. Great. Just great."

"OK, I'm confused," Dean said, his forehead wrinkling. "Weren't we just saying that if something happens to his kids, that's BAD for him? So, why would he have wanted to..." He trailed off, looking uncomfortably at Gail.

" - Blow up dozens of them, at that damn compound?" Gail said angrily, finishing his thought for him. "Because he's a crazy bastard, that's why!"

Dean took a risk: "Settle down, Griselda," he said.

It took a moment, but Gail started to smile. Then she took a deep, shaky breath, then another. "I'm sorry, you guys," she said in a subdued tone. "This is just a really sore subject with me."

"We understand, my darling," Cas said, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. "I apologize."

"That's OK, Cas," she said sadly. "Just another terrific day with my loving, nurturing parents, passive-aggressive, loony Abigail, and evil bastard Vincent. Oh, well. At least they're staying true to form. She stabbed him in the back, and he's got a black mark on his face now, to match the one on his soul."

Becky came into the library area at that moment. "A black mark on his face? Vincent?!" she exclaimed. And as soon as she said his name out loud, her water broke.

The four of them were sitting in the waiting room at the hospital. Cas had teleported Becky and Sam there immediately, and Dean had driven Gail over in the Impala. They'd been waiting for the better part of three hours now, but so far, there had been no updates. Sam had checked with the duty nurse twice, and she had informed him that it was not uncommon for labour to last twelve hours or more, especially for first pregnancies. He had moaned, then trudged back to the waiting room.

Dean looked around for the remote for the TV on the wall, which was dark and silent. "Hey, how do you turn that thing on?" he asked a passing volunteer.

"I'm sorry, Sir, but the TV's broken," she told him.

Great. Terrific. "Twelve hours," Dean muttered.

"Or more," Gail added helpfully. He glared at her, and she shrugged. "Hey, don't look at me. Your brother's the one who started this whole thing," she added dryly.

Cas offered to go for coffee, and Dean looked at him gratefully. Finally. Something for him to do. "Sounds good," he said, grabbing Cas's arm and propelling him to the exit of the waiting area.

Gail shook her head. Traitor. She looked at Sam, and her heart went out to him. He was sitting there fidgeting, looking utterly lost. She walked over and sat beside him, putting her hand on his arm.

"How are you holding up?" Gail asked him, somewhat unnecessarily.

Sam gave a short laugh. "Scared. Nervous. Excited. Terrified."

"Wow. Those are a lot of emotions, all at once. Especially for a guy," she quipped.

Sam flashed her a quick smile, but his forehead was creased with worry. "It's too early, Gail. She wasn't due for two more months."

"I know, Sam," Gail said softly. But she had nothing else to add, because, what the hell did she know about these kinds of things?

"What's happening?" Bobby said. The two of them looked up, and Gail burst out laughing. Despite his concern, Sam's face broke into a grin. There stood God, holding the biggest teddy bear that either of them had ever seen. "What?" Bobby said, but now his lips were twitching, too.

Sam stood from his chair, launching himself into his friend's arms. Bobby was taken by surprise for a moment, but then, he returned Sam's hug. The two men embraced for a moment, and then Gail stood up. "Look out; I'm coming in," she said, and she joined the circle. Now all three of them were hugging. Four, if you counted the bear.

"Oh, so THAT'S where the expression 'bear hug' comes from," Cas quipped. He and Dean had come back into the waiting room area, carrying styrofoam cups of coffee that they had obtained at the vending machine further down the hallway.

They came out of the embrace, and Bobby plunked the stuffed animal into a chair, taking a hankie out of his pocket and blowing into it. Sam and Gail were wiping their eyes, too.

"Is she still in labour?" Bobby asked the group, once he had composed himself.

"Yep," Dean said, handing Sam a cup of coffee. "And, according to them, it might not happen for hours and hours, yet."

Bobby nodded. "Yeah, that's how it goes, sometimes."

"I'm going crazy," Sam agonized. "It's too soon, Bobby. She's only seven months along."

"Don't worry, Son," Bobby reassured Sam. "It happens all the time. Babies come when they come. Obviously, this kid's just anxious to meet his father."

"Oh, my God," Sam said nervously, perhaps unaware of the irony. "Holy crap. I'm gonna be a father." He ran his hand through his hair, then took a sip of his coffee, and the expression on his face when he tasted it was so comical that Gail laughed. He set the cup down on the table as if it was a snake that had just bitten him.

"Yeah, I know. It's crappy, right?" Dean said to his brother. "Sorry. It was all we could find." He set his coffee down, too. Then he gestured to Sam. "Come on, Sammy. Let's go for a walk down the hall. I wanna talk to you, for a minute."

"But what if they come, with an update?" Sam fretted.

"Then we'll come and get you, immediately," Cas told him.

Sam nodded. Oh. Well, he supposed that would be OK, then. He'd been going nuts just sitting here, anyway.

As the brothers walked away, Cas smiled at Bobby. "That's the biggest teddy bear I've ever seen," he remarked.

"I'm pretty sure that's the biggest teddy bear ANYONE'S ever seen," Gail chipped in. "That thing's bigger than me."

"Well, I'm kinda like the kid's Grandpa, ain't I?" Bobby said to them. "So it's my job to go overboard."

That was a sobering thought. Gail realized now that she'd been awfully petty about this whole thing. Regardless of how she felt about Becky, or the way that she and Sam had conceived the baby, the bottom line was that they were all going to have an addition to their family very soon. Maybe Gail should set aside her disapproval, and just focus on that.

Meanwhile, Sam and Dean were strolling down the corridor. Apparently, Dean had been thinking along those same lines, because he stopped and looked at his little brother now. Regardless of the fact that Sammy was about 16 feet tall, he would always be Dean's little brother. Always.

"I just wanted to apologize for the way that I've been acting," Dean said haltingly. Sam opened his mouth to speak, but Dean held up his hand. "Sammy, please. Just let me get this out. You know that talking about this kind of stuff isn't really my thing." He paused for a moment, to figure out exactly what he wanted to say.

"Look, Sam...you know I'm not too wild about Becky," Dean went on. "I just think you could have done way better. But, hey, it's your life. But I want to make you a promise, right here and now. No matter what you decide to do about her, I'll be here for you, and I'm here for your son. Assuming it turns out to be a boy, of course. If it's a girl, same thing. That kid is gonna have everything we never had, Sam. We'll make sure of that. A nice, normal life. School, friends, parties, first crush, the whole nine. No Hunting, no killing. If he or she has got even half the brains that you have, they'll be the smartest kid in their school. They'll be whatever they want to be. Anything you need, Sammy, just ask. I'm going to be the proudest uncle in the world. All the things I couldn't give you, when we were growing up - " Dean couldn't finish. He was too choked up now.

So was Sam, but he wanted to say something to his brother, too. "You're always saying I didn't have anything, growing up," he said, looking Dean in the eyes. "But that's not true, Dean. I had you. So, I had everything." He pulled his older brother to him for a hug. "Thanks for giving me everything, big brother. Now, it's my turn to do that, with my own kid."

While the Winchesters were sharing their epic hug, Becky was in the delivery room, sweating, panting, and screaming. They had given her something for the pain, but it was doing absolutely no good. She had never felt such excruciating pain before. It was as if the baby was trying to tear up as much of her insides as he could, on the way out.

Becky felt almost bipolar by now. One minute, she was exhilarated by the thought that she and Sam were going to be parents very soon. But the next, she was terrified. Vincent. The black mark on his face. Vincent was Gail's father. The man who Becky had let into her home and into her life, seeing her in her most intimate and vulnerable moments, was an evil, baby-killing monster? But how could that be? He had been nothing but kind to Becky. Supportive. Nurturing, even. He had helped her to get Sam, in the first place. Why would he have wanted to help her and Sam have a baby? That didn't make any sense to Becky.

Maybe Gail was exaggerating about her father, Becky rationalized. A flood of resentment washed over her now. Vincent had been dosing her with his voodoo medicine all these months and feeding her darkest impulses for a reason. Not only did he need his son to be protected until he was big enough to do it for himself, but he'd just wanted to see how dark Becky could go. He'd been thwarted in his attempts to corrupt Gail when she'd been a human child, so maybe this was a bit of a do-over.

Becky frowned as another wave of labour pains hit her.

Gail was a spoiled little Princess, Becky thought now. She was never satisfied, and nothing was ever good enough for her. All the men they knew fell all over themselves to do whatever Gail said, but she was always whining about something. Cas was so good to her, but did Gail appreciate that? No! She was always hanging around the bunker, trying to get Sam to notice her. Then she'd been married to Dean for six months, for reasons that were still unclear to Becky. And then, incredibly, Cas had married Gail again, after that, when he could have had any other woman he wanted. And, Gail had made Cas quit being God. Her husband had been God, and that STILL hadn't been good enough for Gail. And now, she was whining about her parents. Whatever. Vincent probably didn't want anything to do with Gail because she was just a little bitch, who thought that the world revolved around her.

But now, the fear crept in. A very small part of Becky knew that there was something really wrong, here. Why had she felt movement in her stomach mere hours after she'd slept with Sam? Why did she crave blood, and eat live animals? And why, every time she thought about Sam making love to her that night, could she only picture Vincent, grinning?

She screamed as another bolt of pain went through her. Then another, and another.

"Congratulations, Becky," the obstetrician said. "You have a beautiful baby boy."

She struggled to sit up. "Where is he? I want to see him!"

"We're just cleaning him up a bit," the doctor said. Becky couldn't see his face, because he was wearing a surgical mask. But she could tell that he was smiling, because his eyes were all crinkly. "I think you miscalculated your due date, though," the doctor continued. "When the baby's father was filling out the paperwork, he said the baby was two months early. But your son is fully formed, and then some. He weighs thirteen pounds. No wonder you were in so much pain. Oh, here he is, now."

Becky was stunned, as the nurse brought the baby to her. He was pink and healthy-looking, with a shock of dark hair. He wasn't crying, or fidgeting, or anything; just looking at her calmly.

Becky burst into tears. She didn't know what she'd been expecting to see, but she was relieved to see that the infant was so big, and healthy-looking. Just like Sam. Their baby looked like Sam.

"We're going to give you a sedative now, so that you can get some rest," a nurse said, preparing an injection. "When you wake up, we'll bring your baby to you to hold, so you can start the bonding process."

Start? They'd already started, seven months ago, Becky thought. The baby looked like Sam. He was Sam's son. She would do anything for their son. Kill for him. Die for him.

The nurse administered the shot, and Becky fell into a deep, blessedly dreamless sleep.

Had the group been able to turn on the TV in the waiting room, they might have seen the breaking news bulletin from overseas. France had elected a new President, and his name was Benoit Levesque. His poll numbers had been through the roof, and the voters had turned out in droves to demonstrate how much they supported his ideologies.

They would have seen Benoit making his acceptance speech, stating that his first order of business was a huge party back at campaign headquarters, for all of his hard-working staff. Then he was going to call a very special lady in his life, and ask her for a very important date. He would share more about that in the future, if the news was favourable. The gossip columnists were intrigued by his statement. Did that mean that their new President was finally ready to commit to one woman?

That was Benoit's intent. He and Michelle had been carrying on a long-distance relationship since last autumn, but he wasn't satisfied with the status quo. Now that his goal of attaining the Presidency had been achieved, he could move ahead with his plans. But things would have to be done gradually, and he knew that the changes he was about to implement would be much more accepted by the public if they were made by a loving family man. If he had to, he could offer Michelle other enticements, such as the funding, and the weight of the Office of the Presidency, to open up a few Rape Crisis Centres here in Europe. He knew that she really wanted to do that. She could help women here too, not just in America. And if her presence was required in the United States from time to time, she could just fly back and forth. People did it all the time.

So when Benoit called Michelle from his campaign office and told her the good news, she was thrilled for him. And when he proposed to her, she cried, and said yes.

"You have a healthy baby boy, Mr. Winchester," the doctor said to Sam. "Congratulations."

"He's all right?" Sam said anxiously. "Even though he was so early?"

The obstetrician smiled. "Well, I don't know what kind of calendar you and Becky were using, but that's a full-term baby I just delivered. He weighs thirteen pounds. Although now that I've seen you, I'm starting to understand why he's so big."

Sam was astonished. Thirteen pounds? Wasn't that a lot, for a premature baby? But the doctor said that the baby was healthy, so that was the most important thing. "Can I see him?" he said hesitantly.

"Sure. In fact, you can all come, if you want," the doctor replied. "Follow me to the viewing area."

"How's Becky?" Bobby asked.

"She's fine. She's resting now. She probably won't wake up until tomorrow."

They all stood in front of the big picture window of the nursery.

"Which one is he?" Dean asked the doctor, but Bobby said, "Second row, second from the left. Am I right?"

"Yes, you are," the doctor said, impressed. "Well, I'll leave you to it, then. Congratulations, again."

Sam was speechless. His son? His son. "How did you know that was him?" he asked Bobby softly.

"He looks just like you used to, when you were a baby," Bobby said in a thick voice. "Like you were ready to take on the world."

"He's not even crying," Gail observed. "He's so calm."

"That's good. Let's hope things stay that way. Otherwise, you're gonna be running to me for advice," Frank said from behind them.

"To US, you mean," Jody corrected him.

Everyone turned around to look at the couple, surprised.

"Chuck called us, after Bobby called him," Jody said, walking forward. She was looking pale and tired, and she'd lost weight. "Eric and Rob are babysitting Angela, or they would be here too."

"Are you OK?" Sam asked her in a hushed voice.

She shrugged. "Doesn't matter. There was no way I was missing this." She put her arms around Sam and he embraced her gently.

"Let's see him," Frank said. He elbowed Dean. "Hopefully, he didn't get your looks."

"Never mind that; I just hope he got Sam's brains," Jody said. She and Frank moved to the window, and Sam pointed to the crib. "There he is. That's him. My son," he said. "My son. Wow. I never thought - " His voice cracked, and Jody slipped her arm around his waist.

"I know, right?" Frank said with a half-smile. "You may have had a lot of wild times when you were younger, but I guarantee you, this'll be the most exciting, fun, exasperating, frustrating experience you'll ever have. Totally insane, but totally worth it. Your life just changed in ways you can't possibly imagine. The second they put that little guy in your arms, you're gonna fall in love so hard that you'll never recover."

They were all crying now. Clearly, a change of gears was needed. Frank gaped at the giant teddy bear that Bobby was holding. "Geez, Bobby, couldn't you get anything bigger?" he quipped. As Frank's jokes went, it was decidedly weak, but it had the desired effect. They all smiled, sniffling back the tears.

"I only paid for half an hour in the parking lot," Frank said now. "Boy, do they ever hose you, here. Thousands of bucks to bring your kid into the world, and you still have to pay through the nose just to park your car downstairs. Come on, Winchesters. Jody and I are taking you back to my place, to hoist a few. You Angels can be your own ride."

"Just give me a minute," Sam said. "I want to look in on Becky, before we go."

"Don't worry, Frank, I'll dial the meter back before ya go," Bobby said. He thrust the bear into Sam's arms. "Here, Son. Tell her I'll see her soon, and tell her to tell the baby his Grandpa loves him."

Great. Now they were all crying again. With one last, long look at his son, Sam left the nursery area and found Becky's room. She was sleeping peacefully, so Sam put the teddy bear in the visitors' chair. Then he bent down and gave her a soft kiss on the forehead. "Thank you," he said. Then he left the room quietly.

VIGNETTE - ALL OF ME

It was April now, and the extended family was gearing up for two weddings. Chuck and Laurel's would be the first, and then Paul and Linda's would follow, two weeks afterwards.

Because the nuptials were scheduled so close together, the couples had decided to combine the mens' bachelor party. Also, the women's stag-ette was going to be combined, at a separate venue.

Cas and Gail were at their house on Earth, getting dressed for their respective parties.

"I remember my bachelor party," Cas was telling his wife. "I enjoyed it, very much."

"I'm surprised you can recall," Gail said, smiling. "You had a lot to drink that night."

Cas knew she was only teasing, of course. "Maybe so, but I'll never forget how excited I was. Chuck and Laurel and Paul and Linda are about to embark on the most wonderful journey."

Gail smiled up at her husband, brushing a piece of lint from the lapel of his blazer. "That's a great way to look at it," she remarked. "But you have to admit, when you're married to me, sometimes that journey is more like Mr. Toad's Wild Ride."

Cas smiled gently, putting his arms around her. "Well, I'm not sure what an amphibian would have to do with it, but I can assure you, it's a ride I wouldn't have missed for the world."

He bent down to kiss her, but when his tongue began to trace her lips, Gail reluctantly pulled away. "Don't start that again, or we'll be late," she chided him softly.

Cas took a deep breath, then let it out shakily. She was right, of course. But even after all this time, his attraction to her hadn't waned one bit. If anything, it got stronger with every passing season. It was spring now, and with spring always came the return of the sunshine on Earth. Romance was in the air with the pending nuptials, Sam and Becky had a new baby boy, and the spring flowers were in bloom.

The only thing that cast a long shadow over them all was the realization that Jody was getting worse. She was extremely thin now, and her complexion was sallow. Barring some sort of remission, or eleventh-hour miracle, Cas had the sinking feeling that Jody may no longer be with them by the summer.

But tonight's festivities were meant to celebrate the upcoming unions of their Angel friends, so the Elephant was being banished, at least for the moment.

"We'll be at the Hunters' bar, in case you need me for anything," Cas said to Gail now, stepping away from her to check his appearance in the mirror. "Dean and I reserved the place for Chuck and Paul's bachelor party. There will be food and drinks, and we'll be playing poker, just like we did at my bachelor party. And also, just like at my party, there won't be any strippers, in case you were wondering."

A small part of Gail had been wondering, actually, but even if there were going to be strippers there, she supposed she had no say in the matter, did she? Still, she appreciated Cas telling her that. "How much did Dean whine about that little news bulletin?" she asked her husband, smiling.

"Not as much as you might think," Cas remarked. He was checking his wallet now, to see if he had enough cash. Deciding that he might not, he crossed over to the dresser, opening the top drawer. He and Gail had long been in the habit of keeping money there for ready use.

Gail was thinking about that now. She wondered if Dean had been a little more upset by Nicole's rejection of his proposal than he was letting on. Either that, or he knew that one or both of the other halves of the men who were about to get married would probably object to the presence of strippers.

"However, I must warn you that some of the men have expressed an interest in smoking cigars, so I may come home smelling like smoke," Cas continued, putting more money into his wallet.

"Well then, we're just going to have to get those clothes right off you, the instant we come home," Gail said mischievously.

Cas turned around to look at her, and his face broke into a smile. "I suppose we will," he agreed, matching her tone. "And, if we weren't already five minutes late, I'd suggest we think about another change of clothing, right now."

"That's your fault," she said good-naturedly. "If you hadn't done that one particular thing, just before it was time for us to get ready - "

"I was under the impression that you enjoyed that," Cas responded in kind. "In fact, as I recall, you were quite expressive about it."

Gail smiled again. Cas continually surprised her with new innovations, and different ways of making love. He'd certainly surprised her with the move that she was referring to now. "I loved it, and you know that I did," she said to her husband. "You're lucky we're only five minutes late. But you'd better help me get these presents over to Hester's, or we'll be even later than that."

"Do you know what Hester has planned for you ladies?" Cas asked her, as they moved to the living room to get the gifts they had wrapped earlier.

"No. She didn't really say," Gail replied. "But since it's at Hester's, I assume it's going to be pretty tame. Tea, sandwiches, maybe some party games..." She glanced at him. "Truthfully, I think your party is going to be a lot more fun. Do you think I could put a fake moustache on, and pass as a man?"

"Not a chance, my love," Cas said affably. "Although, I would like to see the looks on our friends' faces, if I were to kiss a cute little man with a moustache."

Gail laughed. It would almost be worth it, just to see that.

Cas popped over to Hester's house with Gail to drop the presents off, and Linda and Laurel both thanked the couple for the gifts.

"OK, now, get lost," Linda said to Cas, making shooing motions with her hands. "Women only."

"Yes, ma'am," he said. "Have fun, ladies." Then he vanished.

"Welcome to my little home," Hester said to Gail. "You're the last one to arrive."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Gail apologized sheepishly.

"It doesn't matter. You're here now," Laurel said. "Thank you for the gifts. You and Cas are always so good to us."

"What can I say? We love weddings," Gail said, shrugging. "We're so happy for all four of you." She looked around at all the women who were gathered in the living room. Most of them were ladies from their immediate circle: Laurel, Linda, Emma, Hester, Liz, Karen, Nanette, and Carolyn. Gail was disappointed, but not particularly surprised, to see that Jody wasn't here. She knew that her sister-in-law would have been invited; she probably just wasn't feeling well enough to attend. Conversely, Gail was pleased to see that Nicole and Wilma were both here. Presumably, Laurel was better acquainted with both of those ladies now, because Chuck wrote the scripts for the Supernatural films.

"OK, now that we're all here, us Angels will be transporting our human friends to the REAL party," Linda said with a grin.

"What do you mean?" Gail asked, puzzled.

Linda laughed. "You didn't think we were just going to sit around drinking tea and eating cucumber sandwiches, did you?"

Gail shrugged. "Actually, I kind of did," she admitted.

"No way," Linda said, still grinning. "We're going to The Toby."

"What's that?" Gail asked her Angel friend. "Is it a club?"

"If by 'club', you mean a strip joint, then the answer is yes," Hester said, wrinkling her nose. "Honestly, Linda, I don't know why we let you talk us into this."

"Yes, you do," Linda said insistently. "You want to see naked men dance. You're just too much of a prude to admit it."

Prude? Gail raised an eyebrow. Not once you got a couple of drinks into her, she thought. Dean hadn't dubbed Chuck's sister "Hester The Molester" for no reason. But, she kept her mouth shut about that. It wasn't really for Gail to say. She didn't know Hester that well. Maybe she had just been nervous, meeting everybody for the first time on that occasion, and had had too much to drink, as a result.

"Why do you want to see male strippers so much?" Liz asked Linda curiously.

"Because I had a very conservative, uptight upbringing," Linda told her. "My girlfriends and I were going to sneak out and see some male strippers before I married Kevin's father, but then my father found out about it, and he forbade me to go. I should have just gone anyway, but I was just too intimidated."

"Well, I don't know if I approve, but if the brides-to-be are set on going, I suppose I will go, too," Hester remarked.

Gail was trying not to smile. She thought that Hester was protesting just a little bit too much. Liz nudged Gail now. "Is Cas going to be mad?" she asked her friend. Gail opened her mouth to answer, and then she closed it again. "That's a good question," she mused aloud. "I don't think so, but it is kind of a double standard, isn't it? What did Gabriel think?"

"Are you kidding?" Liz said, laughing. "He thought it was great. This morning, he gave me a big wad of singles, and told me to stuff as many G-strings as I could!"

Gail rolled her eyes. "Of course he did. I guess I'm barking up the wrong tree, there." Then she sighed. "Well, you know the old saying, right? It's better to ask for forgiveness than for permission."

"Permission? Screw that; we're going!" Linda exclaimed. She grabbed Hester by the hand, looking around at the other ladies. "The Toby," she said to the Angels. "It's downtown. 834 Wood Street."

"Get out of here," Nicole said, bursting out laughing. "You're making that up!"

"Oh my God, I just got that," Linda said, smirking. "Come on! Let's go, already!"

As the ladies were popping out of Hester's house, the men were congregating at the bar.

"So, Chuck, are you getting nervous?" Barry teased their Angel friend.

"Nope," Chuck replied. "I thought I would be, but I'm really not. Laurel and Hester have everything planned, down to the last detail. All I have to do is show up."

"And then, it'll be your turn," Henri said to Paul, clapping him on the shoulder.

"I can't wait to call you 'Pops'," Kevin said to Paul, grinning.

Chuck spotted Frank and Cas standing at one end of the bar, and he excused himself to go over there and talk to them.

"Hey, Chuck, how're you doing?" Frank asked him.

"I'm good, Frank. I wanted to ask you how Jody was doing," Chuck said quietly. "Laurel told me she wasn't feeling up to going to the stag-ette."

Frank's lips tightened. "Yeah. Sorry, Chuck. She tires easily. She said she'd rather save her energy for the wedding."

"Well, I'm hoping she might have the energy for one other event," Chuck said, giving Frank and Cas a tight smile. "I've received permission to have an advance screening of the new movie, three days after our wedding. Laurel and I are going to delay departure for our honeymoon so we can be there. Just the family are invited. I really hope she can make it, Frank. You guys are gonna love it."

Frank was floored. A special movie premiere, just for them? He looked at Cas. "Did you know about this?" he asked his brother-in-law.

"No, I didn't," Cas said sincerely, "but I think it's a wonderful idea."

"I rented the Rialto Theatre, and when I told Richard what I had in mind, he said they'll send a limo to your place. We'll all dress up, just like a real movie premiere," Chuck continued.

Frank raised his glass. "Thanks, Chuck. Thanks a lot. That's terrific of you guys. She'll love that. Excuse me a second." He put his glass down on the bar, and then he walked quickly away.

Chuck was puzzled. "What was THAT all about? What's up with the sudden exit?"

"He probably just had to go to the washroom," Cas said, but he knew better. Cas knew Gail's brother very well, so he was pretty sure that Frank had walked away to compose himself. That was the reason that Cas had sought Frank out, and the reason that the two men had been talking quietly at one end of the bar, away from everyone else. They'd been talking about Jody, and how sick she was. She had insisted that he, Rob and Eric go to the bachelor party, so that they could get out and have some fun, but they'd had to put their game faces on, first. This was a party to celebrate two guys who were getting married shortly, Frank had told the young men. There would be no talk of illness, and definitely no crying. But it was hard for Frank, because everywhere he went these days, people asked him how Jody was. And the answer was that she wasn't doing too good.

"How's Sam, Jr.?" Eric asked Sam.

"He's great, but we're not calling him that," the younger Winchester replied. "Samuel's going to be his middle name. Becky wants to name him Brian."

"Hey! That's almost like calling him 'Brain'!" Gabriel wisecracked. "Are we sure Becky's not just dyslexic?"

"Really?" Milo said, rolling his eyes.

Cas and Chuck joined the group as Rob said, "When can we come over and see him?"

"Soon," Sam said, a little vaguely. The truth was that Becky got very agitated every time Sam mentioned bringing visitors over to the bunker to see their son. He was just a little newborn baby, she'd argued. Lots of people had spring colds, and she didn't want Brian picking up any germs. When Barry and Tommy had called Sam via Skype to congratulate him on being a father, Sam had asked them if they had been concerned about that kind of thing with Ilene, and they had kind of danced around the subject. Truthfully, the men thought that Becky was going a little overboard. But it wasn't really up to them, was it?

Bobby had ignored all that, of course. He'd been popping in and out of the bunker as often as he pleased, to see the baby, and Becky, too. She didn't really object to that, because Becky had always looked to Bobby as a father figure, and because he was so obviously in her corner now. She figured she could use an ally there, in the bunker. Brian slept in Becky's room, in a bassinet at the foot of her bed. She was never apart from the child. She even took him with her when she went to the kitchen, or to the bathroom. Sam had wondered if that was normal behaviour. He'd been asking their friends about that. Ethan had laughed and remarked that, while that might be a bit extreme, many new mothers experienced separation anxiety after giving birth. Ethan had unfortunately never gotten the chance to see that phenomenon in his own family, because he had already been an Angel at that time. But he had done some research on the topic shortly before his death, and he told Sam about it. That had been of some comfort to Sam.

Dean thought it was weird, of course, and he wasn't too crazy about the name "Brian", either. Still, he guessed there were worse names Becky could have picked, and at least his nephew's middle name was Sam. Dean had been amazed at how seldom the baby cried, or even fussed. He'd been expecting to lose some sleep, once Sam told him that he wanted Becky and the baby to stay in the bunker for now. But, amazingly, Dean never heard the baby crying. He was glad, but the silence had also been a little eerie, too. Babies cried. It was a fact of life. Yet the only time that he had ever seen Brian fuss was the day that they had brought him into the bunker for the first time. But since then, nothing. But Becky made sure the kid was fed and changed regularly, so Dean supposed he had nothing to cry about. Well, not yet, anyway. And if Dean had anything to say about it, hopefully, never.

Cas told the men quickly, with Chuck's help, about the movie screening Chuck had planned. He wanted to make sure the rest of the family knew about it, but Cas had also wanted the subject dealt with by the time Frank came back to join them. He had obviously gone to shed a few tears in private, and Cas wanted to give him that space.

So, by the time Frank got back, the men had started to talk about dividing up into tables to play poker, and Bobby was handing out cigars.

The women had pushed two tables together right in front of the stage, and they were having a couple of cocktails now, before the show started. Linda had wanted to get there early, so that they wouldn't miss a thing. Gail was glad that they'd gotten there before the show too, so that they would have the opportunity to talk to each other for a bit. She'd heard that these types of shows often got loud, and the women got rowdy, sometimes.

The human women appeared to be getting tipsy already, and the Angels were drinking, too. Most of them were doing it just to be sociable, like Gail. But, the more inexperienced drinkers like Liz and Laurel seemed to be more affected than Gail might have thought, considering. Either that, or they were nervous about what they were about to see. Truthfully, Gail was, too. What could she expect? A man coming out on stage, shaking his rear end and then taking off his clothes, she guessed. What was sexy about that? She liked that ballroom dancing show, and she appreciated a nice male physique as much as the next woman, but unless it was Cas taking his clothes off, she really didn't see the appeal. She tried to picture it now: some guy, grabbing his sock by the toe and hopping around, trying to get it off his foot. Or, would he have to sit down on the stage to do it? Now she was laughing. He would probably have stinky feet, too, from dancing around all the time. Yeah. Real sexy.

"What's so funny?" Laurel asked Gail.

"I recognize that smile," Linda said, taking a swig from her drink. "She's thinking about Cas. Am I right?"

"Kind of," Gail said with a half-shrug, still smiling.

"Well, forget about him, for a few minutes," Linda said impatiently. "We're here to see strange men get naked." She looked around for the server. "Another round!"

Gail was bemused. "Are the men strange BECAUSE they're naked?" she asked Emma jokingly.

"Depends on what they look like, I guess," Emma replied. Then, because she was who she was, the young Angel added, "Did you know that there was a mysterious ancient Chinese language called Nushu, that was created and used exclusively by women?"

"No, but if you pronounce that 'new shoes', that sounds like a lot of women I know," Carolyn quipped.

"We want naked men!" Hester called out, thumping her empty glass on the table.

Uh-oh, Gail thought. Here we go. Now, she thought she had it figured out: Hester was one of those women, the ones who were all prim and proper, and "well, I never", until they got a few drinks into their system. Then, all bets were off.

The lights flickered, and then they began to dim. The women in the club cheered and hollered, and a few even whistled. Then there was a voice-over, announcing the first performer. "Here, to light your fire, is our very own: Crash!"

Gail's forehead wrinkled. Had he just said the guy's name was "Crash"? What the hell kind of a name was that? Hopefully, he was a better dancer than his name would suggest.

Crash came out wearing a fireman's outfit, and carrying an axe. OK, now Gail REALLY hoped he wasn't clumsy, because as close to the stage as her group was, they were definitely in what might be termed the "splash zone". Now she wished the music wasn't so loud, because these were some comedy gems she was coming up with. But over the thumping of the dance music and the women screaming, there was no way she would be heard.

The man started to dance, and Gail had to admit that he wasn't as clumsy as she'd feared. He wasn't exactly a ballroom dancer, either, but he kept the beat, and when he took his shirt off, she could see that his torso was muscular. Still, she didn't really get the commotion that all of these women were making over him. Had a bus from a women's prison broken down just outside the club, or something? Damn! She should really be writing these down.

"Take it off! Take it ALL off!" Hester shouted. Crash moved out to the runway right beside their table and shook his pelvis at Chuck's sister, and she whooped. Gail's eyes widened. Wow. She'd never heard Hester make a sound like that before. Crash bent over, and Gail heard a ripping sound, over the music. Had he just torn his pants? If so, Gail might just fall off her chair laughing.

But, wait. No. His pants had been fastened at the seams by velcro. THAT had been the sound she'd heard. Gail didn't know whether to be relieved, or disappointed. But she supposed it was logical. If you took off your pants for a living, it made sense to be able to do it as expeditiously as possible, didn't it?

Crash flung his pants into the audience, and a few women were fighting for possession of them. Now he was wearing skimpy underwear, gyrating, while holding the axe over his head with both hands. Now Gail was starting to get concerned again. How naked was he going to get? Did she really want to know? Did she really want to LOOK?

But to her relief, the song ended, and Crash stopped dancing. He soaked up his ovation. Then Linda elbowed Liz. "Show him the money," she ordered their friend. Liz waved the singles that Gabriel had given her, and Crash hopped down from the stage to stand next to their table.

"Which one of you ladies wants a lap dance?" the dancer said with a smile.

Everyone looked at Linda, but she had a frozen look on her face now. It was easy to catcall when you were an anonymous member of a crowd. But now that the lights were on and Crash and his underpants were staring her in the face, she felt like a deer caught in the headlights.

"SHE does!" Hester exclaimed. For a heart-stopping moment, Gail thought Chuck's sister was pointing to her. But Hester was actually pointing at Liz, because Liz was holding the cash. So the stripper came over to Liz, and he smiled down at her. Then he started to undulate, shaking his rear end in her face.

Liz was mortified. What was she supposed to do, here? Where was she supposed to look? She looked at Gail, wide-eyed, but her friend was of no help whatsoever in this situation, because Gail didn't know what to do, either.

"Liz!" Nicole said in a loud whisper. "You're supposed to..." She gestured to the waistband of her pants.

Liz looked at the singles she was holding, and then she glanced at Crash's underwear. He had picked that moment to turn around, and now, he was wiggling his crotch in her face. Oh, no. Oh, HELL, no.

"What's the matter?" Crash asked Liz. "Are you shy?"

She looked up at his face. There. Now, she was on safer ground. He looked like a nice enough guy. "What's your name?" she blurted out. "I mean, your real name."

"Drew," he said, continuing to gyrate. But his smile was genuine. "I can tell you've never done this before, so let me tell you something about myself, to put you at ease," the dancer went on. "I dress like a fireman because I'm a volunteer firefighter in my spare time, and I'm proud of that. I only do this because I've got two ex-wives to support, and I'm getting married again, real soon. They say the third time's the charm, right?"

"Wow, you must really love being married," Gail blurted out, unable to help herself. Crash, aka Drew, looked at her and laughed. "Yeah. A little too much, I think," he said ruefully. Then he stopped dancing, and Liz let out a relieved breath.

"Thank you," she said politely, holding out a handful of the singles for him to take. He laughed again, took them, and then left.

Gail burst out laughing. "You should see your face right now."

Liz rolled her eyes. "Oh, my God. Thanks a lot, Hester." But then, her lips twitched. "When Gabriel asks, and he will, you guys better tell him those singles went in those guy's underpants!"

All of the women laughed, and Linda said, "Let's get some more drinks!"

The men were taking a break from playing poker, and Frank and Dean were having a toast. "So, your life's been a little...interesting, lately," Frank remarked.

"Aww, geez. Who was the snitch?" Dean said, rolling his eyes. "The really tall one, the really short one, or the one with black wings and the big mouth?"

"Doesn't matter," Frank replied. "Look, you know I don't usually do the touchy-feely, 'I-love-you, man' thing, but, are you OK?"

"Yeah," Dean responded. "It was just like ripping off a bandaid. For a second, it hurt like hell. But, you know what? Nicole was right. About everything. Mainly, I proposed to her because I thought she wanted me to."

"Boy, oh boy. A bullet was dodged, there," Frank said, miming wiping sweat from his brow.

"Oh, I don't know about THAT," Dean said. "We're still gonna see each other. She's a terrific woman, Frank."

"I wasn't talking about YOU, I was talking about HER," Frank joked.

Dean shook his head slowly. He knew how tough things were for Gail's brother right now, but he never changed. Thank God. "You're a real son of a bitch, you know that?" he said to Frank.

Gail's brother grinned. "Yeah, I know," he said affably. "Come on, Winchester. Buy me another drink."

The men slung their arms around each other's shoulders, and headed to the bar.

It had been really funny for a while, but Gail was starting to get a little bored, now. Several male dancers had come out in various costumes, done pretty much the same things as Crash had, and then left. Sure, some of them were nice-looking and had decent bodies, but honestly, they weren't the greatest dancers she had ever seen, and it was all getting a bit repetitive. Most of the women were still yelling and rowdy, but she was losing interest. The bottom line for her was that none of these guys was Cas. Now, maybe if one of them was at least the actor who played Cas, she might give him a second look.

But, wait...what? What? The dancer who was currently on stage took off his pants to reveal...a velvet bag that was tied around his - No. No way. Now, he was lighting it on fire! The velvet bag was ablaze now, and he was dancing around the stage, with it burning merrily away. Well, of course he was. She would be dancing around, too. But at least this was something different to look at. Actually, it was becoming a little bit stressful. Didn't that hurt? Was he crazy?

Finally, he grabbed a water bottle from the corner of the stage and poured it on himself, dousing the flames. Incredibly, though, he was still covered. How could that be? The bag had been on fire! Did he have another, fireproof bag on underneath the velvet one, maybe? She was staring at him now, fascinated, trying to figure it out. She had to hand it to the guy. His act had certainly gotten her attention. He must have it down to a science by now, but, still...maybe that was why they had a volunteer firefighter on the payroll.

Next came another guy, carrying a black case. Gail clapped a hand over her mouth. If he was a ventriloquist, Angel or not, she was going to pee herself. He set the case down on the stage, then started dancing and taking off his clothes, just like the others. She waited patiently, and then finally, he went over to the case, opened it up, and took out a big boa constrictor.

Holy moly! Imagine if Dean were here to see this. Gail looked at Liz, and then at Nicole, and all three women cracked up laughing. The guy kept dancing with the snake wound around his body for a while. Then his dance ended, and the house lights went up. There was an announcement that this was the intermission.

When the server came over to bring them another round, Gail asked him if the men they had just seen were going to do another show after the break. When he assured her that they were, Gail started to smile.

"Hi, sweetie! How's it going? Are you guys having fun?" Gail asked her husband. She had asked Nicole if she could borrow her cell phone, telling their friend what she had in mind. Nicole had liked it so much that she had pressed the phone into Gail's hand, telling her to do whatever it took to make that happen.

But Cas didn't answer her question. "Cas? Are you still there?" she said into the phone.

She heard him sigh on the other end, and then, he said something very peculiar: "How did you find out?"

Gail's forehead wrinkled, but before she could ask Cas what he was talking about, he said in a rush, "Please don't be angry. I asked Dean, but he swore he didn't hire them. But I haven't been watching, I promise. I went to the other room, with Barry and Tommy and Bobby. They told me the strippers will be gone in about ten minutes. Please don't be angry, Gail. I had nothing to do with it."

She looked at the phone incredulously. Here Cas was, freaking out because there were strippers in another room at the bachelor party, and here she was, with male strippers wagging their private parts practically in her face.

"I'm not angry, Cas," she replied hesitantly. "I'd be a great big hypocrite, if I were. Guess where I am, right now." She told him, and there was another silence on his end. "But it doesn't interest me, Cas. Believe me, I would much rather be there with you. I don't find any of these guys appealing."

"You don't?" he asked her.

"No, I don't, Cas. They're not you," she said earnestly. "I was actually getting pretty bored, but then the last two guys did some crazy things." She briefly described what she'd seen, and Cas was astonished. "Surely, you must be exaggerating," he said, and Gail's lips were twitching furiously now. Maybe he would be mad later, but right now, she had piqued his curiosity. Which, of course, had been the plan, all along. "I'm not, Cas. You should come and see. In fact, why don't you bring all the guys? Won't that be funny? Please, Cas. I need to see Dean's face when that guy comes out with the snake. Then if you want to yell at me later, when we get home, at least I'll have seen that. Please."

Cas was starting to smile now. He also wanted to see Dean's face when that happened. He was pretty sure that his friend had lied to him about hiring the strippers. And Cas was very intrigued by the man who danced while on fire. It was difficult to be angry about something that intrigued him so much. He supposed this was a double-standard type of situation, and they might have to talk about that, later. But Cas believed his wife when she'd told him that going to see the strippers hadn't been her idea, and that she wasn't attracted to any of them.

In the end, curiosity won the day. About fifteen minutes later, the men walked into the club, and the women started to laugh. Even Dean was there. He'd been incredulous when Cas and some of the others had told him where they wanted to go. But, Cas had persuaded Dean to come by telling him that some of the women had been upset about the fact that there had been female strippers at their party. If the men joined the women at the male strip club, that would go a long way towards smoothing things over, Cas had stated. Then the men who had partners who were at The Toby had stated that they were willing to go, if it would help keep them out of the proverbial doghouse. Then Cas had casually mentioned that Nicole was there at The Toby, and that had sealed the deal. Even though they hadn't become engaged, Dean knew that if he wanted to continue seeing her from time to time, he would do well not to give her the impression that he had already moved on.

So he sat down next to Nicole, and she gave Gail the thumbs-up. All of the men had come except for Bobby, Frank, Rob and Eric. Frank and the boys had wanted to get home to Jody, and Bobby had taken them. But the jokes were flying around now, as Gail teased Barry and Tommy about being the most interested participants there, next to the women.

"Oh, please," Tommy said, rolling his eyes. "I'm sure there won't be anything here we haven't seen before."

"I'm sure there won't be anything here we haven't DONE before," Barry quipped, and everyone laughed.

Dean was still grousing a bit, but Gabriel propped his feet up on an empty chair, and put his arm around Liz. "Look, Dean-o, let me tell you something," the Archangel said. "If you're secure in your manliness, there's no reason this can't be entertaining. Besides," he added, waggling an eyebrow, "if you go home with a woman after one of these kinds of shows, chances are she's probably gonna be a little more...motivated, if you know what I mean."

The lights went down, and the show started. Crash came out to do his second routine, and when he'd finished, he came down to where the group sat. "Now, here's something we don't see every day. Is this your husband?" he asked Liz, smiling at her flirtatiously.

"Who's asking?" Gabriel said, his eyes narrowing. Cas was also eyeing the man suspiciously. "Never mind. Enjoy the show," Crash said quickly, leaving the floor.

"How's your manliness doing now?" Dean said to Gabriel, smirking.

"It's OK, Gabriel," Hester said. "That guy's engaged. He and Liz had a nice conversation, earlier."

"You're not helping, Hester," Liz muttered.

"I wonder why any guy would do this," Kevin speculated aloud. "It seems like it's a little bit degrading."

"He said he's got two ex-wives to support," Emma piped up, prompting another suspicious look from the men. Just how well-acquainted had the ladies become with these guys, anyway?

"Those velcro pants seem like they could come in handy, though," Chuck quipped, and everyone looked at him. "What? I'm just saying," he said innocently.

A couple of dancers later, the guy with the velvet bag came on to do his routine, and the men gasped audibly when he lit it on fire. As Gail had expected, they watched, enthralled, as he danced around like that.

When the act was over, Tommy let out the breath he'd been holding. "OK, now, THAT, I've never seen before."

"I wonder how he even got that idea in the first place," Gabriel said, open-mouthed. "I mean, I've been near a lot of open flames in my time, but..." He shuddered. "One little accident, and it's alllll over."

"That was both fascinating and horrifying, at the same time," Sam remarked.

Then, when all the men were still trying to recover from that spectacle, on came the dancer with the suitcase. When he brought out the snake, Dean spat out the mouthful of whiskey he had, and went on an expletive-filled rant that the dance music rendered inaudible. But Gail could read his lips, and she was nearly falling off her chair laughing.

When the dance ended and the snake man left the stage, the MC announced that the performances were done for the night. The house lights went up, and Dean was as white as fresh snow. "He had...you all saw...he let a snake touch his..." Dean was stuttering. He turned on Gail. "I can never un-see that."

"Actually, I thought it was kind of interesting," Paul commented. "Kind of reminded me of some of the old-time snake handlers, in the South. Minus the religious aspect, of course."

"I could go for the cheap laugh by insinuating that you guys all suffer by comparison, but I won't," Gabriel said with obnoxious good humour.

"What do you mean, 'you guys'?" Ethan piped up. "What about YOU?"

Gabriel tilted his head, looking indulgently at his fellow Angel. "Archangel," he said, by way of explanation.

Dean was still a little pale, but he'd recovered enough to roll his eyes at that. "OK, well, as fun as this has been, I wanna go back to the bar, now. Or, as I like to call it, the snake-free zone. You ladies can come too, if you want."

"Oh, we can? That's magan...maganimous...generous of you," Hester slurred.

"I think I'd better get you home," Chuck said to his sister. He threw Dean an apologetic glance.

"I'll come, too," Laurel said quickly. Hanging around bars wasn't really her thing, and she had to admit that the comment her fiance had made about the velcro pants had made her want to spend a bit of time with him, rather than with a group of women. The couple rose from their seats, supporting Hester between them. They said goodnight to everyone, walking away from the table.

Milo and Nanette and Ethan and Karen begged off too, as did Henri. The others settled the bill and then went to the restrooms, where the human men and women took care of business, if they needed to. Then the Angels popped their friends over to the Hunter bar for a few more drinks.

Gabriel wasn't drunk, of course, but he was Gabriel. He had decided to find it hilarious that Cas had been so nervous that Gail would be mad that the bachelor party had had female strippers, considering where she had been. "Turns out you could have watched the show with the rest of us, Brother," he teased Cas, once they got back to the venue of the bachelor party.

"I have no interest in that sort of thing," Cas told him.

"You're just saying that because you think you'll get in trouble with your wife," Gabriel scoffed.

"No, he really means it," Dean interjected. "Sammy and I took him to a strip joint in Vegas, when he was still single, and he got so mad I thought he was gonna punch my lights out."

"It was not right for me to go to a place like that, Dean," Cas insisted. He took Gail's hand. "We were there for our first date," he said, smiling at his wife.

"Ohhhh, I get it. I see what the common denominator is, here," Gabriel said, smirking.

"Yes; it's love for my wife," Cas said irritably. "She is the only one I want to look at."

Gail stuck her tongue out at Gabriel. "Yeah. So there. Now, put a sock in it," she said sassily. Then her lips twitched. "We could light it on fire, if you want the practice."

"Poor Liz," Linda said, elbowing Gabriel. "I can hear the little hamster wheels turning in your head right now. She's in for one hell of a performance, later."

"Why are you always hitting me?" Gabe protested. "And, you should be behaving yourself. You're gonna be a married woman, in a couple of weeks." He waggled an eyebrow. "No one gave the bride away at the wedding, but several of the men could have."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Paul said indignantly.

"Oh, lighten up. It's a joke," Gabriel said, rolling his eyes.

Suddenly, Emma started to laugh. "Oh, I get it!" she exclaimed. "It's a play on words! That's very funny!"

Gabriel puffed out his chest proudly. "See?" he said to Paul. "Now, THAT'S how you react, when you hear something that's funny."

"And that's how I WILL react, if I ever do," Paul said tartly. Gabriel did a double-take, and then he started to smile.

A short while later, the party started to wind down. Barry and Tommy and Carolyn were the first ones to say that they were going to leave, and Nicole remarked that since she was literally in their neighbourhood, she would go with them. The movie was in post-production now, but some re-shooting might still have to be done. There was a bit of an awkward moment between her and Dean then, but she ended up kissing him and telling him that she would see him again, very soon. Cas had told Nicole and Gail about the special movie premiere that Chuck had arranged, and Nicole had said that she would like to come to that, if everybody was okay with it. Without hesitation, Cas had said that of course she should come. Then Gail had taken Cas aside and brought up the point that maybe he should have asked Dean how he felt about that, first. Then the two of them had talked to Dean, and he'd given them a lecture about how stupid they were being. Of course Nicole was welcome to come to the screening. Just because she didn't have a diamond ring on her finger, that didn't mean that anything had really changed between them, Dean had insisted. So he said he would see her then.

Kevin and Emma had volunteered to take Barry, Tommy and Carolyn home, and Linda and Paul said they would go with Nicole. That just left Gabriel and Liz, Cas and Gail, and Sam and Dean.

"Well, I think I should call it a night, too," Sam said, stifling a yawn. "I want to look in on Brian and Becky."

Dean frowned. Of course. Of course he did. "So is this what it's gonna be like, now?" he asked his brother bluntly.

"What do you mean?" Sam asked, his forehead wrinkling.

"You know exactly what I mean," Dean countered.

"Well, I think we're gonna hit the old dusty trail," Gabriel said, taking Liz's hand. "Thanks for the good time." He popped them out, before Liz had the chance to say anything she might be thinking about saying.

"Come on, let's not do this, Dean," Sam said earnestly. "We had a good night tonight."

Gail wanted to nip this in the bud right away, before it got out of hand, and a mostly fun night was ruined. So she said, "You realize you guys are talking like an old married couple, right? I might have to make friends with some of those Wincest fan fiction girls, if this keeps up."

Sam shook his head slowly. "Nice try, Gail. I get what you're trying to do. Look, Dean, I don't want to argue about this all the time. It's a big adjustment for us, I know. But, we don't have a choice."

Dean's lips pursed tightly together, but he said nothing further on the subject.

"Come on. Gail and I will take you both home," Cas said to the Winchesters. Then, all four of them were gone.

Cas took his blazer off and hung it up in the bedroom closet. He smiled thinly, looking at his wife. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did you want me to put on some music, while I do this?"

She laughed. "If you want."

"I'm trying to decide if I should be angry with you," he said calmly.

Gail's heart sank a little. She'd figured she might have to do a bit of dancing herself, before this night was over. "I told you, Cas, I didn't know about it. I would never lie to you about that."

"But you went, anyway," he pointed out. He was just standing there, looking at her. She couldn't read his face, or hear any inflection in his voice. She hated it when he did that.

"I was curious," she told him honestly. "And, to be fair, I never said anything about you guys not getting strippers for the bachelor party."

"Would you have been upset if I had looked at them?" he persisted.

Dammit. "Yes," she admitted. Then, she sighed. "Okay, you got me. I'm guilty of the crime of extreme double standard-ism. What's my punishment?"

He approached her now, still wearing that inscrutable look on his face. "I sentence you to life, times infinity, of looking at one unclothed man, and one man, only," Cas told her.

She knew she shouldn't. She really shouldn't. He was about to let her off the hook. But she just couldn't resist. "Do I get to pick the man?" she quipped.

"You think you're very funny, don't you?" Cas said, still staring her in the face.

"Yes?" she said, tentatively.

"Do you have any other clever comments to make?" he inquired.

"No," she replied quickly. "No. Nothing. I swear."

"Then, I suppose I have no choice but to declare that your sentence has officially begun," Cas said, starting to unbutton his shirt.


	2. Marry You

Chapter 2 - Marry You

Years later, if someone were to ask one of the survivors exactly when everything had started going to hell, they would no doubt have pinpointed the month of April.

The beginning of the month had started out wonderfully, for the most part. The family had welcomed a new addition in the form of Baby Brian, and while he had not been conceived under optimal circumstances, Sam, Becky and Dean had formed an uneasy truce, and were making the best of the situation. Dean and Becky had actually been getting along a little better, recently. She'd showed Dean how to hold little Brian, and how to feed him. They had bonded a bit over that, and then, when Sam had come into the kitchen and seen them all there, looking like a family, the lump in his throat had been gargantuan.

Then, they'd had the stag parties for the prospective brides and grooms, and even though Jody had been too ill to join them, that had still been a good night.

The day of Chuck and Laurel's wedding dawned bright and sunny, and the family was anticipating another fun-filled occasion. But even then, the cracks were beginning to form.

Becky was still having nightmares that she hadn't told anyone about, mainly because she didn't know if anyone would care. Everyone at the bunker was polite but distant with her, and she knew that she wasn't really welcome there. Despite her fondest hopes, Sam had made no move to propose to her, or even suggest that they take up residence together. He doted on the baby, of course, but there was no affection between him and Becky. None. Sam seemed to be satisfied with the status quo, but Becky was feeling less and less comfortable at the bunker with every day that went by. She was still having the dreams about Gail and Dean conspiring to kill her and the baby, and her sex dreams about Sam always ended the same way; with Vincent, laughing.

And the fact that Brian never cried was concerning to her too, but when Sam had suggested to Becky that they could take their son to a pediatrician and make sure that he was okay, she had freaked out. The spell that Vincent had put on her before they had parted ways had made her ultra-protective of the baby, and she couldn't bear the thought of a stranger touching him. Sam had let it alone for the time being, but it was a situation that could not continue indefinitely.

Then there was Jody's deteriorating health. Many of the group hadn't seen her in quite some time, and as she was slowly getting dressed for Chuck and Laurel's wedding, Jody had to sit down and rest for a minute.

Frank had been hovering over her, trying not to be too obvious about it. He'd deliberately buttoned his dress shirt wrong, and when she sat down on the edge of the bed, he'd looked at her. "Are you sure you're up for this, Babe?" he asked his wife.

Jody sighed. She hated feeling so worn out, all the time. "I haven't left this house since Sam's baby was born," she said to her husband. "I want to see everybody." She got back up again, checking herself in the mirror. "Nothing fits me, any more," she remarked. "It's a good thing this dress has a belt."

"You look good," Frank said, but Jody was shaking her head. "No, I don't," she said bluntly. "I look like crap. But, I don't care. I'm just so damn excited to see everybody again."

"Well, save some of that excitement for our Hollywood debut," he said, taking her hand. "We're probably gonna have to sign autographs, afterwards. Once people finally see some quality characters in those movies, we're gonna be famous." He kissed her gently on the cheek. "You ready to go see the Chuckster get married?"

Jody smiled. "I don't think anybody's quite ready to see THAT," she quipped. "Let's go find out if the boys need any help getting their ties on right. I'll bet you anything Angela's dressed before they are." She stopped for a moment. "I love you, Frank. I know we don't say that a lot. But I wanted to say it now. I know how much you do around here, and I just wanted to tell you how much I appreciate it."

"Are you drunk, already?" he quipped.

Jody rolled her eyes. "How Gail ever put up with you all those years is beyond me," she said dryly.

"She didn't," he said with a grin. "She claims she rolled off that truck to get away from the Demons, but she really did it to get away from me. And, for the record, I'm glad she did, because otherwise, I never would have met you." He bent down to give his wife a kiss.

"Oh, sorry. For a minute there, I thought we'd walked into Cas and Gail's house," Rob quipped. He was standing in the doorway, holding Angela's hand. Jody's eyes prickled with tears. Rob looked so grown up, and Angela looked like a little lady. Their daughter almost always wore pants around the house, or her pajamas at night, or in the morning. Frank had opted to keep their daughter out of the school system for the time being, because of their family circumstances. But Liz or Karen popped down every now and then with some lessons that they gave their younger kids, and Rob and Eric helped her with math and geography, when they weren't on the road. Cas had also been giving his little niece rudimentary history lessons, although Frank had cautioned him not to make the stories too graphic. And Gail read books with Angela from time to time, quizzing their little girl on spelling and vocabulary. All things considered, Frank and Jody figured their daughter was probably receiving a better education than the public school system could provide.

"Let's go!" Angela insisted now. "Poochie wants a front row seat."

Of course he did, Frank thought, shaking his head. As always, she had the stuffed elephant with her. He knew that Chuck and Laurel wouldn't care. Everybody just thought it was as cute as hell. And, hey, it could have been worse. At least she hadn't tried to dress it up in a suit.

"Eric's bringing the car around to the side door," Rob told his mother. These days, it was difficult for Jody to negotiate the stairs at the front of the house, so Bobby had ever-so-subtly expanded the laneway beside the side door of their home so a car could be driven up there. Frank had asked Bobby what they should say if one of their neighbours noticed the sudden expansion and sued them for encroachment, and Bobby's reply had been so salty that Frank had laughed until he'd gotten the hiccups.

Jody took Frank's arm and Frank picked Angela up with the other, and then they left the house for the church.

It had been a brief ceremony, and now everyone was in the small hall that Hester had rented, having a couple of drinks before dinner was served.

Because Chuck didn't want to have to choose, he had asked both Kevin and Ethan, the original other two Musketeers, to stand up with him. Laurel had asked Hester to be her Maid of Honour. And, because Bobby was going to perform the ceremony, Laurel had shyly asked Cas if he would give her away. Naturally, he had been delighted to do it.

So, when they were all socializing afterwards, Cas was rhapsodizing about how much he loved weddings.

"I don't think you have to tell us that," Frank said affably, clapping his brother-in-law on the shoulder. "I think it's pretty obvious. Hey, if you ever run out of Heavenly missions, you could become a wedding planner."

"That would be a wonderful job, wouldn't it?" Cas said, smiling. "Imagine helping all of those couples unite, and celebrate their special day."

"Excuse me, I'm looking for some men," Dean said sarcastically. "Have you two seen any?"

Cas ignored him. "Did you know that some East Indian wedding celebrations can go on for a week?" he remarked now.

"There's a joke in there somewhere, just busting to get out," Frank mused aloud. "Something about 'hashtag sari/not sari', or something. Dammit! I'll have to get back to you on that."

"Daddy! Daddee! Come here, please!" Angela called out from one of the tables, where the little girl and Jody were sitting. Jody was talking to Chuck and Laurel, and Angela was trying to give Poochie a drink of water. She was holding the glass up to his trunk. Cas and Gail exchanged a smile. That elephant was the best thing they had ever gotten for anyone, and for the low, low price of only one dollar, too.

"Her Highness beckons," Frank said, and then he went over there.

"You know, we're a little saturated now when it comes to weddings, but you guys should give some more thought to renewing your vows, in a year or two," Liz said to Cas and Gail. "I've often thought it would be neat to explore how other cultures do it."

"Maybe we should talk you into doing that East Indian thing," Tommy chipped in. "A whole week of partying sounds good to me."

"Yeah, but that would also mean a whole week of those two, smooching and making googly eyes at each other," Dean said, making a face.

"How is that any different than what we do now?" Gail said, making googly eyes at Cas. He kissed his wife.

Dean thought about that for a moment. "Because sometimes, you leave," he decided on as a retort.

"Awwww, man, I've got nothing," Frank complained, rejoining the group.

"Don't be discouraged, Frank. Sikh, and you shall find," Sam quipped, and Gail's brother looked at him balefully. "Really, Sam? I'll tell you what: when young Brian gets old enough to appreciate good jokes, you send him to me."

"If we're talking about wedding traditions, when I was doing some research for mine and Paul's, I saw where some ceremonies include the couples washing each other's feet," Linda remarked.

"OK; that's just weird," Barry said.

"I don't necessarily agree," Cas stated. "I know about that tradition, and while it may seem a little unusual, the ritual is supposed to show love and service to God, and to your partner. So in that regard, I think it's rather sweet."

"Unless one of you has a big bunion, or something," Eric joked. "Then, it would just be gross."

While everyone contemplated that, and while the caterers were setting up for the dinner, Chuck raised his voice so he could be heard over all the conversation. "Excuse me, everybody? I just wanted to say something," he began. He choked up a little, cleared his throat, and started again. "I never thought that this day would come," Chuck said in a thick voice.

"Neither did we!" Dean called out, and everyone laughed.

Chuck dipped his head in acknowledgement. There was a time when a comment like that would have hurt him, or made him angry. But, not any more. Chuck felt nothing but love for each and every person in this room, and what was truly a miracle was that he knew that they all loved him, too. He looked at Laurel. "I love my new bride with all my heart, and we're honoured to call all of you our family," Chuck said. He lifted his glass. "A toast, to Laurel."

Everyone toasted, and then Hester said, "Let's get some pictures taken, before dinner. I'd like one of all of us. The whole group. One of the caterers has agreed to take it for us."

So they all grouped together, for a couple of photos of the whole gang. The only ones not there were Becky, and baby Brian. Once again, she hadn't wanted to bring the infant around so many people, she'd told Sam, and she had refused to even consider a babysitter. Sam had let it go for now. Brian was still a newborn, so he supposed she could have a point about possible germs. Still, they were going to have to deal with it, eventually.

Nicole was there too, and she would be coming back again in three days, for the preview screening of the new movie. But she was anticipating going back to work after that, albeit briefly, she told them. They had been given the green light to do a fourth installment to the saga, and they were going to film a post-credits teaser for it that would be tacked onto the end of the new movie, for public release. Chuck had written it, but he had refused to tell anyone what was in the scene, not even Laurel. Richard had it under lock and key, and he had read it too, of course, but he'd said he wouldn't share it with anyone. All the men would say was that it was a game-changer, and it was devastating.

But for now, everyone smiled happily for the camera, more toasts were made, and then the reception began in earnest, lasting until the wee hours of the morning.

Three days later, Nicole put the finishing touches on Jody's makeup, after Frank's wife had put on the new dress her husband had bought her. It was a long gown with sequins on it, of all things; something Jody wouldn't normally wear. But they were all dressing up, they'd assured her, just like a real Hollywood movie premiere. The men were wearing tuxedos, and the women were wearing long gowns. Little Angela even had a tiara on, and Nicole had done her hair for her, too. Jody didn't usually go in for that Princess-y stuff, thinking it sent the wrong message. But tonight was an exception, and Nicole had been generous in lending her professional expertise to the occasion.

Angela ran into the room now, as Jody was looking at herself in the mirror. Nicole had succeeded in making Jody look like her old self. But, like the actors in the movie, it was just an illusion. Jody was fading now, and she knew it. This was probably the last time that she was going to be able to put on glad rags and go out for an evening. She'd told Linda she was going to do her best to come to the church for her and Paul's ceremony, but Jody doubted very much that she was going to be in any condition to make the reception. But this night was about Jody and Frank, and their relationship, and damned if she wasn't going to watch that love story depicted on the big screen.

Jody laughed as she looked at her daughter. Poochie had a little tuxedo on. "Where did you get that?" Jody asked Nicole.

"I made it," Nicole told her. "I thought the whole family deserved to be dressed up, tonight."

Jody gave her an impulsive hug. "Thank you, Nicole. Thanks for everything. We're going to be the best-looking family in Lebanon, tonight."

"How is everybody - awww, geez," Frank said, shaking his head. He had just entered the bedroom, and he was looking at Poochie, in all his well-dressed glory. "Who's responsible for that?"

"I guess that would be me," Nicole said, smiling.

"You have no idea the size of the can of worms you just opened," Frank said, sighing. "Now, I'm gonna have to commission you to make a whole wardrobe for him. Just you wait and see."

Angela looked up at Nicole. "Let's see...he'll need some shorts and T-shirts, now that summer is just around the corner," the little girl said pertly. "Oh, and some pajamas, too. Thank you!" Then she skipped out of the room, as Nicole stared after her.

"See? Can of worms. I told you so," Frank said. He looked at Jody. "You look beautiful, Jodes. Hollywood glamorous."

Jody smiled. "The only difference is, I'm not an actress," she remarked. "But I can't wait to see 'us' on the big screen."

"It's a surreal experience," Gail said. "I hope you don't mind me barging in like this, but Cas said to tell you the limo is here. Jody, you look fantastic."

"Thanks to Nicole," Jody said.

Gail smiled gratefully at their Canadian friend. Regardless of what was happening or not happening between Nicole and Dean, she was so happy to have Nicole in their circle of friends and family. Obviously, things couldn't be too bad between them, because she was here as Dean's date, and they had kissed, when Nicole had arrived. Dean hadn't said much about it, because that wasn't his way. But it seemed to Gail that the couple had simply decided not to become engaged, for some reason. But it wasn't Gail's life, and it was really none of her business, she supposed. As long as everyone was happy with the situation, and they seemed to be, she was going to try to keep her nose out of it.

Richard had sent a stretch limo, and there were buckets of champagne on ice in the back, with a note from the actors who played Sam, Dean, Cas and Gail, saying it was their treat, and they hoped everyone enjoyed the movie.

The Rialto was a small theatre, but the seats were plush, and the screen was the standard big-screen size. The inevitable pictures were taken of everyone outside the theatre, dressed to the nines, and then they went in to watch the movie. Frank had nodded to Sam and Dean, and they had brought the bottles of champagne in with them. Screw the liquor laws, Frank had said. Which was pretty funny, seeing as he was a City Councilor now. But this was Jody's night, and she had said that she felt like having a glass of champagne. So, case closed.

They all took their seats, and Chuck and Nicole stood in front of the theatre to address everyone.

"First of all, let me just say that everyone looks fantastic," Chuck said, pouring Nicole a glass of champagne. Then he poured himself one. "I think you're really going to love this one. Not as many exotic locations, or explosions - sorry, Dean - but this one is a little bit more about all of us, as a family."

Everyone had laughed when Chuck had said what he'd said to Dean, but now they were listening intently. "I won't spoil it for you too much, but a lot of the plot centers around Frank's re-entry into the timeline, and his and Jody's relationship. But, because we're a bit of an offbeat family, to say the least, it's also got Angels, Demons, monsters, and suspense. The only thing we haven't got for you is the teaser trailer, that'll run after the credits. Sorry, but we weren't able to shoot it on time." Chuck was lying now, of course. They could easily have shot it in time for inclusion in this print of the film. The issue was that Chuck hadn't wanted any of them to see it. This was supposed to be a night to celebrate love, and hope. But Chuck had received God's Prophecies now, and he knew that things were about to change so radically in the next year that none of them would even recognize the status quo, in the future. Those that survived, that was. He had written part of the script already, but he feared that he was running out of time now.

Anyway, the bottom line was that this was a night for entertainment, not death and dire warnings. "I hope you all enjoy this new Supernatural feature film. It's still untitled. I'm lobbying hard for 'Hope And Chance'," Nicole said to everyone.

"And I kind of thought I'd like to call it 'Not Just Tomorrow, But Always'," Chuck said. "Richard will have the final say, but I'm good with either."

"If it's about Frank, why don't you just call it 'Still Crazy After All These Years'?" Dean wisecracked.

"Or how about 'Run, Jody, Run'?" Sam piped up.

"If we're discussing titles, we could just call it 'Winchesters Suck Giant - '" Frank started to say, and Jody looked at him sharply. " - 'Lollipops'," Frank finished quickly. He gave his wife a toothy grin, and she couldn't help but smile.

"I'm giving you a mental high-five right now, Frank-a-roni," Gabriel called out from the row behind him.

"What happened to Frank-en-furter?" Gail asked the Archangel with a smile.

"One cannot live on weiners alone, my little Kitten," Gabriel said, smirking.

"OK, we'd better get this thing started, before things get totally out of hand," Chuck said, trying not to grin too widely. That would only encourage him. "So, as they say in the film industry, roll 'em."

He and Nicole went to their seats to join their respective partners. Bobby waved his hand and the lights went down as the curtains on the stage parted and the movie began.

It had everything. Laughs, tears, romance, action and suspense. Chuck had written Frank and Jody as they really were, so their love story was still romantic and touching, but without being sappy, or maudlin.

When the reunion between Gail and Frank came on the screen, Gail leaned forward. She and Cas were sitting directly behind Frank and Jody, so the couple could sit next to Angela and the boys. When that scene came up, Gail kissed her brother on the cheek, hugging him from behind. "If you ever need a reminder of why I love Cas so much, there it is, right there," she said in Frank's ear. He smiled.

Then they were all laughing when the wedding scene came on. Chuck had managed to reproduce their vows fairly accurately, considering how long ago that had taken place. The friends and family members who had been there remembered the occasion fondly, while those who hadn't been now felt like they had.

The film turned bittersweet when it depicted Felicia's murder and the couple's adoption of her son. Frank glanced at Rob, and he could see a couple of tears glistening on their son's cheek when the film showed the couple taking him to Disneyland for their honeymoon. He remembered that trip very well, almost like it was yesterday. But now that he was a young man, he realized what a sacrifice it had been for his parents to have given up what was supposed to be the most romantic trip of their lives so that they could show a little kid a good time, so soon after his mother's death. He made a mental note to tell them later how much he appreciated that.

Then came the scene that a lot of them had been dreading: the one where the viewers found out that Jody had breast cancer. Everybody was weeping now. The impact of the scene was that much greater considering what she was dealing with now. And Chuck hadn't glossed over her ordeal, either. When he had broached the subject with her initially, Jody had told him not to sugarcoat it. So he had written a couple of scenes where the actress who was playing Jody had portrayed her pain and her struggle powerfully, and even though it was hard to watch, Jody approved. Cancer wasn't merciful, and it wasn't pretty. Look at how she was feeling right now. Look at her poor husband, trying valiantly to be a hero for her, and for everyone. Cracking jokes, even though she knew he was emotionally dying inside. But there was nothing she could do for him, because she was too busy physically dying, herself.

So Jody did the only thing she could do, at the moment: she took Frank's hand, and they watched the rest of the movie like that.

Then, when the movie was over, Bobby waved the lights on. Cas and Gail popped themselves to the front of the theatre so they could look at everyone. Gail sniffled. "I want to be the first one to congratulate Chuck on an amazing job," she said. She and Cas started to applaud, and then everybody else joined in.

"Do you feel up to coming back to our house for a bit of an after-party?" Cas asked Jody.

Jody wanted to milk all she could from this evening. It was just so great to have everyone here, all together. Just like Christmas. And, just like Christmas, she was being given a good day, today. She remembered everyone's names at the moment, and her head didn't hurt. So she said, "I'd love to, Cas."

Gail was thrilled. They had planned some entertainment, in case Jody was feeling up to it. So she and Cas told Frank and Jody to take the limo to their place, and they would start popping everyone else to their house in the meantime.

"Just make sure you don't get all carried away by the romantic movie we just saw, and make out in the back of the limo," Gabriel called out.

"Not making any promises, there, Gaberino," Frank shot back, and everyone laughed.

Once everybody was seated in Cas and Gail's living room and Frank and Jody had arrived, Gail told the group: "For those of you who aren't performing, I'm just letting you know that the upcoming show isn't intended to offend anybody. It's intended to offend EVERYBODY! We have a fun show lined up for you. See if you can guess who's who in the zoo."

Chuck got up from his seat. He started to walk slowly around the living room. "Feet off the table, before I issue you a citation," he said to Eric. Then he ran his hands through his hair. "Oh, my God! Where did all my hair go? I'd better report this to Bobby right away. We might have a hair thief on our hands." He stopped in front of Frank. "I think we can eliminate this man as a suspect."

They all laughed, and Linda said, "That's Ethan."

"Bingo," Chuck said. He sat down, and Paul stood up next. He touched the bridge of his nose. "Did you know that a tomato is not a vegetable, it's actually a fruit?"

"Oh, come on. That was way too easy. That's Emma," Hester piped up.

Emma rolled her eyes. "Besides, that's not even a little-known fact. Everybody knows that one," she said, clucking her tongue.

Then, Frank got up. When Gail had come up with this idea, she had worked out her performers, and they had drawn numbers for the order in which they would go. Only the designated performer knew who they would be imitating, and each performance was to be pure improv.

Frank emitted a high-pitched giggle, and Gail nearly fell off her chair laughing. She didn't think she'd ever heard him make a sound like that before. She'd never known he was even capable of making a sound like that.

"Cas, on helium!" Dean called out, and Frank smirked. "No, but that's a great answer," he said. He started to walk around the living room, wiggling exaggeratedly.

Nobody said anything. "Oh, come on," Frank said impatiently. "The giggle alone should have given it away."

"Hey! Less talking, more acting!" Gail admonished her brother.

He let out a frustrated breath. "Fine." He continued to sashay around for another minute. "Come on, you guys. I'm gonna blow out a hip if I keep walking this way."

"'If I could walk that way, I wouldn't need the talcum powder'," Bobby said, quoting an old punchline from an even older joke. But everybody just looked at him blankly. "Nothing? Nobody?" He sighed.

"Maybe we just like to see you wiggle your bum," Nicole teased Frank. He lifted an eyebrow. "Yeah, I heard about that. Look, I don't mind being objectified, and if you ladies want to throw money at me, I'll be glad to take it off your hands. But if you think I'm lighting anything on fire, you're crazy," Frank said.

More laughter, and then finally, Frank gave up. Obviously, they were all just yanking his chain. So he pretended to look at a watch on his wrist. "My boyfriend's late. Again. I wonder what wild excuse he'll have this time."

Sam got up, and walked over to Frank. "Sorry I'm late, BabyLips. I had to go back to 5000 B.C., and settle that paternity suit Cleopatra filed against me."

"Another one?" Frank said in a high-pitched voice.

"Yeah, but don't worry. They couldn't prove a thing," Sam said in a boastful tone. "She was in total de-Nile about it."

"You're such an asp," Frank said, batting his eyelashes at Sam.

"Oh, my God, you guys," Eric said. "I think we need 'Ethan' back, to arrest 'Liz' and 'Gabriel' for the worst jokes ever."

"I was just waiting for them to start kissing," Gabriel wisecracked. "And now, I just want to ask Cas why he would snitch on me and Cleopatra like that."

Liz gave her boyfriend the side-eye. She couldn't tell if he was joking or not. She decided to decide that he was. It made her life a lot easier that way. "I don't laugh like that," she said to Frank, who was sitting back down. "Yes, you do," several people chorused.

"I hope you know I'm totally gonna call you 'BabyLips' from now on," Gabe said to her, and Liz glared at Dean's brother, who was re-taking his seat. "Thanks a lot, Sam."

Now Bobby got up. "Hey, Big G, what's a typewriter? What do you mean, 'dial' a phone? What's a video rental place?"

"That's Rob," Sam stated, as Emma looked at Kevin. "What IS a video rental place?" the bespectacled Angel asked him.

Bobby sat down again. He'd known that what he had done was just a little bit too easy to guess. He had just been flattered when Gail had asked him to be a part of their little show. When she had approached him with the idea, she'd said that she wanted to do something after the movie that would make them all laugh, in case the movie made them all cry too much. Bobby'd thought it was a brilliant idea. He really needed to see Jody laughing. It had been hard on him to watch her sinking, the way she'd been doing. He'd asked Gail where she'd gotten the idea she was proposing, and Gail had been a little vague about it. Truthfully, though, the seed had been planted back in Vegas, in the cactus garden, when Dean and Sam had imitated Cas. She'd thought it could be pretty funny if different members of their group tried the same thing with each other.

Barry stood up, and he immediately started pacing the floor. "So, get this: people have been going missing, all within a twenty-mile square radius of the abandoned hospital. I brought my laptop to the forest outside the place and connected it to that magic Wi-Fi I seem to be able to get anywhere I want, at all times, and the research indicates that there were some mysterious deaths there, back in the 1800s. The lore suggests it's probably a vengeful ghost, but I'm sure it's actually a poltergeist, because I'm really, really smart." He tossed his head back. "And now if you'll excuse me, since I've solved the case, I have to go and condition my hair."

Cas stood up and walked over to Barry was standing, his legs bowed. "I can't decide on whether to get the chicken, the ribs, or pizza," the Angel said. "What the hell? I'll just get all three. And, make sure you get beer. Lots and lots of beer. What kinds of pie do they have?"

Liz giggled loudly, and then she smiled at herself. "OK, that time, I totally heard it," she admitted.

"Chicken, ribs, AND pizza?" Dean mused aloud, smiling. "Whoever that guy is, he's a genius."

"Let's go look at some naked women, and watch pornography," Cas went on, and now Dean frowned. "Hey, Cas, settle down, now. You're making me look bad, Buddy."

"Thanks to 'Sam' and 'Dean' for taking time out from their busy schedule to make an appearance here, today," Gail said quickly, before Cas went too overboard. He'd been really funny, and so had Barry, but despite her joke about offending people, she didn't want anybody to feel too picked on.

"Now, we had a dilemma for this next performance," Gail continued. "There were a lot of people who could have nailed it very well, but everybody was too afraid to do it."

"But, I wasn't," Linda piped up eagerly. She stood up and walked over to Eric. "Sit up straight, Boy. Were ya raised in a barn?" Then she looked at Gabriel. "No, I will NOT close Heaven for a week, so we can all go to Tijuana. What's the matter with you?" Then she looked at Laurel. "What's that, dear? You want me to do all your filing? Sure, if you think it would help, I'd be glad to."

"Would that really work?" Laurel joked, looking at Bobby. "Who knew that all I had to do was ask?"

"We should have gotten you a fake beard, and a hat," Dean said to Linda, and Gail shook her head ruefully. "Dammit! That WOULD have been good!" she exclaimed. "OK, duly noted. The next time we do this, that's what we'll do. Unless Bobby smites us all out of existence for what Linda just did, of course."

Bobby's beard twitched. "It would be hard to get mad at such an accurate portrayal," he remarked. "But, yeah, the beard definitely would have been funnier."

As Linda sat down, Gail stood up. She thought for a moment, then said, "Hang on." She grabbed Dean's beer bottle, waving it around in her hand. It was the only thing she could think of on such short notice. But she definitely wanted another crack at this, when she could plan ahead a bit better. "Hey, Winchester," she said, waving the beer bottle towards him. "Did'ja hear the one about the two Shriners who bumped into each other on the street? One guy says to the other guy, 'I can't remember your name, but your fez is familiar'". She walked over to where Angela was sitting, hugging Poochie to herself. Her little niece was wide-eyed and entranced. It was getting a little late in the evening for her, but she was still wide awake. It probably didn't hurt that Rob and Eric had snuck her some candy in the theatre. But she was enjoying all the performances now, too. It reminded her of Story Time, but with her family members playing each other, instead of characters. Maybe she would ask them to do Story Time for her again, once in a while. Poochie was her best friend, but he wasn't too good at making up stories.

"Hey, kiddo," Gail said to her niece now, still in character, "why do you never see elephants hiding in trees?"

Angela thought for a minute. Then she looked at Poochie, but he offered no answer. "I don't know," the little girl said.

"Because they're so good at it," Gail said with a grin. "Huh? Huh? Get it?" But she wasn't done yet. She walked over to Sam. "And, while I'm on the subject of elephants: What do you call an elephant that doesn't matter? An irrelephant."

"Wow. And they called OUR jokes bad," Sam said, rolling his eyes.

"You're being Daddy!" Angela cried out happily, clapping delightedly.

"Thank you. Thank you, fans," Gail said, bowing. She sat down.

And then, inevitably, Dean rose from his chair. He started to walk around the living room, pointing at the men. "You guys, go to the store, and get all that stuff I need." He pointed again. "And you guys can move the furniture." He looked at Barry. "How's that dinner coming along?"

Then Dean stretched languorously, smiling. "Holy moly. Supervising is sooo tiring. I miss my perfect husband. What's taking him so long? We haven't smooched in five whole minutes."

Gabriel got up from his chair now. "I'm coming, my dearest darling. I had to stop to make you ten bouquets of flowers, first."

"Hark! Here he comes now! I'd better get ready!" Dean chirped. He mimed putting lip balm on his lips, exaggerating the movements. Then he smacked his lips loudly. "There."

Everybody was roaring with laughter now. Gail was rolling her eyes, but she was laughing, too. She guessed she'd asked for this, hadn't she? Maybe she'd felt like she had owed Dean for that whole stripper snake guy thing. And he was sure getting his revenge now, wasn't he? But, still: "'Hark'? Really?" she couldn't help but exclaim.

"Settle down, Madam, there's a performance taking place, here," Gabriel admonished her. Then he cleared this throat and approached Dean, puffing out his chest. "I have returned from the battlefield called Supermarket, with the lamb chops you requested, my darling."

Dean pouted.

"What is the matter, my love?" Gabriel said, a look of deep concern on his face.

"It's all right, sweetie. I actually asked for pork chops," Dean said sadly. "But if you think that lamb chops are better, then they must be, because you're so handsome."

"Oh, no!" Gabriel lamented. "Alas! I have failed in my mission! I will go back to Supermarket, and I will run my blade through everyone who will not surrender the pork chops that my beautiful wife requires. And then, when I have vanquished all our enemies, I will return, and we will smooch like bunnies for the remainder of the evening."

Oh, my God, Gail thought. She hated to encourage them, but she was laughing so hard now that she nearly fell off her chair. Tears were streaming down her face, but they were the good kind, for a change. She looked around at everyone. Frank and Jody were laughing, leaning on each other for support. Sam had thrown his head back, Rob and Eric were hitting each other on the arm, and Angela was laughing mainly because everybody else was laughing. Barry and Tommy were doubled over, and Cas was smiling widely, shaking his head back and forth slowly.

Gail stood, clutching at Cas for support because she was still laughing so hard. He stood up with her. When she'd composed herself, she said, "Now, THAT'S how you close a show. Even though I'm reluctant to admit it, that was funny as hell."

"Clearly, we will have to step up our game next time, as I believe the expression goes. Full credit goes to my beautiful wife for such a wonderful idea. I will be sure to smooch her later, in appreciation," Cas said with humour.

"My perfect husband and I would like to thank everybody for being such good sports," Gail added.

"I may have to get my revenge on you for your dubious portrayal of me at a later time, but right now, I'm too busy enjoying what I just saw," Frank said to her, wiping his eyes.

"I have something I want to say," Jody said, rising slowly to her feet. She looked around at everyone. "This has been one of the best nights I can remember." She smiled wryly. "I realize that, these days, that's not saying much. But I promise you, I'll remember this night. Chuck, thank you for writing such a funny, moving, honest script. You deserve all the accolades in the world. I don't usually 'do' big speeches, or shows of emotion. You all know that's not my style. But I just wanted to tell all of you how much you mean to me. I love you; each and every one of you. This had been one of the most perfect nights of my life. Even more perfect than Gail's husband." She smiled, as everyone laughed. "And now, I'm going to have the King of Bad Dad Jokes take me home, so we can smooch."

Everyone laughed again. Then they all started to get up from their seats, exchanging hugs and kisses with Jody and her family. Angela kissed every person who either bent down to her or picked her up, and then she had Poochie kiss them, too. "We're smooching like bunnies," the little girl told Poochie.

Frank looked at Gabriel. "Thanks. Thanks a lot."

Gabe grinned proudly. "You're more than welcome, Frankster. Enjoy."

Gail and Cas walked Frank, Jody, Rob, Eric, Angela and Poochie out to the curb, where the limousine was pulling up. Cas had tipped the driver handsomely to wait in the neighbourhood until Jody was ready to go home. He wanted her to have one last luxurious ride, and, as with her previous bout with cancer, teleportation made her feel dizzy and nauseous, anyway.

More hugs were exchanged, and Jody smiled at Gail. "Even though most of the fun was at your expense, I have to say, I had a great laugh tonight," Jody told her sister-in-law. "It's been way too long since I've had one of those. Thanks for that."

"Any time," Gail said. She and Cas joined hands as the family got into the limo, and they watched as the car cruised down the block and turned the corner, out of sight.

And that was the last time they were all together.

The day of Paul and Linda's wedding dawned slightly overcast, but by the afternoon, the clouds had parted, and the sun came out.

After all the research that Linda had done, when Paul had sufficiently recovered from the sojourn to Saqqara, he had told her not to bother incorporating any Southern Baptist elements into their wedding. He had no particular affection for or affiliation with that religion. She should just go ahead and plan it however she wanted.

So Linda had ended up planning a simple affair, leaning heavily on Korean traditions. One of the traditions was that the guests would gift the couple with money in a sealed envelope. They were going to hold to that tradition, but whatever money their human friends brought was going to be donated to charity. Also, if they had been a younger Korean couple, many times, the bride's parents would be the ones who took over the event. But, after a little deliberation, Linda had decided not to involve any of her human family. They'd been estranged after her divorce from Kevin's father, and truthfully, she felt it was better left alone. She was not the same timid young girl she'd been back then. Not even close. And there was the whole racial thing, too. As much as Linda tried to soft-pedal it, she knew deep down that her Earthly family would not approve of her marrying a black man, let alone one who was only a few years younger than Kevin had been when her son had died. Not that that kind of thing was significant to Angels, but somehow, Linda didn't think that her family would be willing or able to make that distinction.

Traditionally, Korean weddings were very short; at least, the ones that Linda had been to were. There were no bridesmaids, and no ushers. Following the official ceremony, which was brief and almost businesslike, there was a speech made by a family member, then usually a musical performance of some sort, and then the newly married couple's first kiss. And that was pretty much it. Then there was a meal, and then everyone went home. No reception. The meal was called a "pyebaek", and it was traditionally for family members only. But that would have excluded many of their friends and extended family members, and Linda couldn't abide that idea. Plus, she wanted to have a drink and a dance at her own wedding. So they were going to have the abbreviated ceremony, and then send their friends to the hall where they'd had Chuck and Laurel's reception to begin dinner. Linda and Paul were going to have their "pyebaek" in Heaven, with their designated Angel family: Kevin, Henri, Bobby, Cas and Gail, and Liz and Gabriel. But, because they didn't eat, she was going to ask Bobby to perform a Korean blessing, instead. Then they were going to go to Earth, to join the others.

The ceremony had taken place in a small Korean church on the outskirts of the downtown business district, and then afterwards, everyone who had been able to attend had gathered outside for a few minutes, to take some pictures and exchange hugs and congratulate the couple.

"I'm sorry Jody's not here," Frank said to the newly married couple. "She tried, but the headache she had was just too much for her."

"We understand," Linda said in a subdued tone. "If it was too hard for her, of course we understand. Is that why the boys aren't here?"

"Yeah," Frank replied, frowning. "She had to load up on morphine, and I didn't like the idea of leaving her and Angela alone. But she insisted that I come, to represent the family. And I wanted to come, anyway. Who's gonna tell all the bad dad jokes, if I'm not here? Hey, maybe we can get you drunk and have you imitate Bobby, again. That was hilarious."

"Are you trying to get me in trouble with the boss?" Linda asked him sharply, but they were both smiling. Then her expression turned serious. "Give Jody our love, Frank. When Paul and I get back from our honeymoon, I'll give you a call. Maybe we can stop by for a visit, if she's up to it."

"She'd like that," Frank responded, and he moved away to join Sam and Dean, who were going over to the parking lot to drive to the reception hall.

Alan was watching the activity outside the church with professional detachment. Some of the Angels were going back into the church now, and some of the others were walking away with the humans. The trouble was, the ones that he had been hired to watch were all going back into the building.

He was tuned in to Angel Radio, and the young one, Emma, was telling Kevin Tran that she was going to ride in a car over to the reception hall. Chuck's human sister Hester was going to drive her brother and new sister-in-law Chuck and Laurel, and she had room for Emma, if she wanted to tag along. Emma hadn't been in a car in years, so she'd wanted to do that.

Kevin had told Emma that his group would see them at the reception hall on Earth, once the payback was over. Payback? No, that couldn't be right, Alan thought. That word must have been garbled over the frequency.

But what he had heard, very clearly, was that Bobby, Castiel, Gabriel, Gail and Paul were in that group, and they were currently headed to Heaven. Those were the very names that he had been given. So he called Raguel to report in.

Raguel was frustrated. He didn't want a lesser Angel. He wanted one of higher standing. But the private investigator who had once been of such great help to Patricia was telling him that they were going up to Heaven for...something, and then they would be heading to the reception hall. But he didn't know where this reception hall was. So he instructed Alan to follow the car that Chuck, Laurel and Emma were in to its destination, and then report back with the location.

Alan did as instructed, and when he called Raguel, the Archangel popped into the car beside him a moment later.

"Thank you for your service," Raguel commended the Angel. "When I am in possession of the Book, you will receive your reward."

Alan dipped his head in acknowledgement, and both Angels popped out of the car to go their separate ways.

Raguel had been pacing outside the hall for a while, looking to detect the presence of the Angels he sought. That many higher-ranking Angels appearing somewhere all at once would cause a celestial wave, sort of like a ripple in a pond. Shielded, or not.

He was deliberating now: which of them should he take? Ideally, his first choice would be Bobby. Although the man lacked all of God's powers, there were still a great many that he would have, simply by virtue of inhabiting the High Office. Gabriel was an Archangel, who would be on a par with Raguel, if not a little stronger. And Castiel had a wealth of powers, as well, and the Elite ranking, something that was very important to an Angel like Raguel. Then again, Gail might be a fitting choice, under the circumstances. Father had deigned to designate her as an Original, the only female that had ever achieved that distinction. Raguel had tacked Paul on to the list because he was the son of an Archangel, and because he might be easier to take.

But now, Raguel was reconsidering his plan. Well, not the plan itself, which was solid, but rather, the execution of it. The five Angels he had in mind were each powerful in their own ways, but combined, they would be very strong. There were also a number of lesser Angels here. Raguel was an Archangel, but he was only a single entity. If they were all to act in concert, they might well be able to defeat him. He doubted they could kill him, even if they were to band together, but they could severely wound him. Maybe he should just take the first Angel he saw, and not risk a confrontation.

Then, he felt it. The five of them had arrived. They were inside the building, right now. He checked the pocket of his clothing for his blade.

"These ribs are really good," Frank said to his sister. Gail had just arrived from Heaven with the bride and groom and the rest of the Angels who Linda had designated as family for the occasion. She had been extremely flattered to have been included, although she suspected it was due more to her being Cas's wife than anything else. But she was OK with that.

"How's Jody?" Gail asked Frank now.

He dropped the bone on his plate. "You know, just once, I'd like to go somewhere and have nobody ask me that," her brother said irritably. He pushed the plate away, grabbing some napkins to wipe his hands. Then he looked at Gail. "Sorry, kiddo. She's fine. 'Resting', was what Rob said. That means she's unconscious, stoned out of her gourd on morphine."

Gail frowned. "How much of that stuff does she take?"

Frank sighed. "Too much. But, don't give me that look. She's not back from 'Nam, or anything. She's not hooked on the stuff. She needs it. The doctor said she should take it whenever she has to. Which is pretty much all the time, now. And, you know what that means. It means there's nothing else they can do for her."

Gail stomach rolled. She knew what Frank was saying, but she still wanted to be in denial about it. She didn't want to hear about how bad things were, because if she didn't, then she could tell herself that things weren't that bad.

"I'm gonna step outside for a breath of fresh air," Frank said, rising from his chair. He leaned down, kissing her on top of her head. Then he walked toward the exit.

Raguel's head tilted to the side as he saw the door open, and a man come out. The Archangel had melted into the shadows while he'd been debating how to proceed. For a split second, he'd thought...but, no. The man was a human. Of no use to him whatsoever.

He let out a frustrated breath. This had been such a good plan. He didn't know why he hadn't thought of it before. The current higher-ranking Angels all had close ties to Earth. It just made sense. He had ruled out going to Heaven as being too treacherous. Not only because of the sheer numbers of Angels there, but also because of the ready access to the weapons annex. There were a few items there that, if properly used, could be very effective against the likes of Raguel. But, not the jawbone. They couldn't have the jawbone, Raguel reasoned, or Castiel would have killed him with it in Egypt.

Of course, none of that would matter if he could get his hands on the Book of Life, which had been the plan all along. But he'd had no idea how to even begin to obtain it. Now he did, but he needed to use an Angel first, to give him what he sought.

The human man was still standing outside the doorway that led into the hall, taking deep breaths and looking up at the skies. This was ridiculous. Angels would not come out here; not when they could teleport everywhere.

But then, a miracle happened; two of them did.

Linda was talking to Cas and Gail now, telling them that she wanted to do something for Frank. Dinner was over now, but there was still quite a bit of food left over.

"I'm going to have the caterers pack it up, and I want to give it to Frank," Linda was saying. "You told me how much he liked the ribs. He's got two growing boys at home who are always hungry, little Angela, and Jody too, if she's up to eating. We'll pop the food over to his place, then have cake. He can take some of that home too, if he wants."

"That's so kind of you," Cas told her. "I'm sure he'll appreciate that."

"Appreciate what?" Gabriel said, overhearing the last part of their conversation.

Linda gave him a quick summary of what they'd been discussing, and the Archangel said, "Pack up? Why don't I just go in there and wave my little finger? Boom. Done."

"Because the caterers are humans," Cas said, shaking his head. "That was why we were very discreet when we came here from Heaven. We'll just let them do their jobs, and then after they leave, we can take over." He looked around. "Where IS Frank?"

"I guess he's still outside," Gail commented. "I'll go get him, and tell him what's going on." She looked up at Cas. "Maybe you'd better call Rob or Eric, and find out what's going on there, first. I don't want a bunch of us popping over there scaring Jody, if she's awake."

"That's a good idea," Cas said, taking out his phone.

Gail started to walk to the exit, and Gabriel suddenly said, "Wait. I'll come with you." He glanced at Cas. "Don't worry, I'll walk," the Archangel added sassily. Cas sighed, turning his phone on.

Raguel perked up. A male and a female Angel came out of the building and stood in the shadows, talking to the human man, who went back inside. There was a low buzz in Raguel's head now. Archangel? He moved excitedly towards the couple, but he made sure to be quiet, so that he didn't call attention to himself. He had his blade in his hand.

Gail and Gabriel had started moving towards the exit, but then, the Archangel stopped.

"What?" Gail inquired.

"I have a weird thing going on inside my head," Gabriel told her.

"I've heard that about you," she quipped.

He gave her a perfunctory smile, but then he grimaced. Seeing that, Gail became concerned. "What's the matter?" she asked him.

"I don't know," Gabriel said, dazed. He put a hand to his head, and then he staggered a bit.

"Hey, Gabe! What the hell, man? You can't be drunk, yet. There's still some alcohol left," Paul teased him good-naturedly. He and Linda approached their friends, after Linda had told her new husband what was going on.

"There's something wrong with Gabriel," Gail told them. She looked around for Cas, but he was gone from sight. He'd probably gone somewhere quieter to make his phone call.

"I'm fine," Gabriel protested, but he was frowning, and his hand was still on his forehead.

"Oh, the hell with that," Linda said angrily. She took a quick look around, but the caterers were apparently all in the kitchen. She grabbed Gabriel by the sleeve. "I'm taking you to Bobby, so he can have a look at you."

They promptly disappeared, and Gail and Paul looked at each other, bemused. "Should I be worried that my brand new bride just left me standing here and took off with Heaven's most famous Mac Daddy?" he joked.

Gail laughed. "Never mind. "Why don't you come outside with me to get a breath of fresh air? I'm going to get Frank, so we can take all the food to his house. I presume that's OK with you? I mean, it's your wedding feast too, right?"

Paul grinned. "What the hell are any of US gonna do with it? Of course Frank and his family should have it. I like your brother, Gail, and those are some good kids he's got there. And Jody's all right, too. For a cop, that is."

The two Angels smiled at each other sadly, and then they walked outside.

They'd talked to Frank for a moment, and he went back inside to thank Linda, and to see if he could help with anything.

"I've gotta get back there in a second," Paul told Gail, as they stood there enjoying the evening air. He looked up at the sky. "You can see some stars here. That's rare, in the city."

"Not like the desert in Saqqara, though. Remember?" Gail remarked, giving him a gentle nudge.

Suddenly, she was lifted off her feet with invisible hands, and pinned up against the building. "What the ever-lovin' - " Paul started to say, and then the same thing happened to him. The two Angels were suspended three feet off the ground, held immobile against the building.

A tall, thin man emerged out of the shadows, smiling grimly. "Well, neither of you was my first choice, but you were both on the list," he said, gesturing with his blade. "The question is, which one of you should I choose? Both of you would probably be fatal, unfortunately."

Raguel looked at Gail. Her eyes were wide with terror. She was struggling, trying to pry herself free, but it was no use. Paul was doing the same, but neither of them was any match for an Archangel. Paul had the pedigree, but not the power. And Gail didn't have her blade. Who brought their blade to a wedding? She was wearing a dress. Where would she even put it?

Cas; that was who. Cas would bring his blade to a wedding. He probably had his blade in his jacket, right now. It was like a second skin to him. But when she tried to communicate with him mentally, there was a searing pain in her head.

"Oh, no, my dear," Raguel said coolly. "As much as I would prefer to have your husband, we need to do this quietly and quickly."

"Do what?" she asked him warily.

"Why, take your Grace, of course," he told her, raising the knife. "There is someone who deserves it far more than you do."

"If you need somebody's Grace, take mine," Paul said through gritted teeth. He was still trying as hard as he could to break free. "I don't know who you are, but I'm the son of an Archangel. My Grace is more valuable."

Raguel made a motion with the index finger of his free hand, and Gail and Paul slid down, standing on the ground once more. But they still couldn't budge. The Archangel drew near, peering closely at Paul's face. "I am Raguel, the Archangel," he said haughtily. "I knew your father."

"Oh, so YOU'RE Raguel," Paul said. He was trying to sound cool, but he was worried, now. This was the guy they'd gotten the jawbone to kill, because apparently, nothing else would accomplish that. But they didn't have the jawbone any more, and Paul couldn't move. He'd also tried calling Bobby, Gabriel and Cas for help, but his frequency was jammed, too. Still, maybe if he stalled for long enough, one of them would come out looking for him and Gail. He and Linda were supposed to cut the cake in a few minutes. Oh, God, don't let Linda come out here, he thought fervently.

Paul looked at Raguel, forming his face into a sneer. "My dad told me about you," he scoffed. "He said you weren't actually an Archangel. He said the Father just told you that you could call yourself one, so you would go away and leave Him alone."

Raguel leaned even closer to Paul, and his nostrils flared. "Your so-called Grace isn't even your own," Raguel said scornfully. "It's diluted. You were a Demon not so long ago, weren't you? There's very little of Raphael left in you. That's unfortunate. He was a fierce, proud warrior. You are nothing like him."

He turned to look at Gail. "I believe I will take you, after all."

"Yeah? I don't think so," Chuck said from behind him. He had volunteered to come out and get the two of them, when Linda had remarked that she and Paul were supposed to cut the cake. They were going to take a couple of pictures, and then they were going to package some of that up for Gail's brother, too. Cas was currently talking to Frank, and Linda and Bobby were still looking at Gabriel, with a concerned Liz by his side. The Archangel assured them he was fine. Whatever it had been had lessened now. But because everyone within earshot had been occupied, Chuck had volunteered to go outside and get them.

Raguel turned around to look at the newcomer. He recognized Chuck as a Prophet of the Lord. Interesting. He considered that, for a moment. But the trouble was, Chuck's Grace was tainted, too. He had actually been sent to Hell by the Father Himself, due to his misdeeds. Was there no one here who was pure? What kind of a Heaven was Bobby Singer running, anyway? Well, that was going to change, and very soon. That was why Raguel was here.

Raguel turned his back on Chuck, raising his knife to cut Gail's throat. He would have to be satisfied with her. Chuck panicked. He did the only thing he could think of: he thrust his arms out, and tried to blast Raguel away from Gail. But all that happened was a slight breeze. A puff of air, really. Raguel half-turned to look in Chuck's direction. "You have the temerity to raise your hand against me? ME?" he said incredulously. "When I get the Book of Life, all who have stood against me will fall." Then he started to turn towards Gail again.

Chuck did the only thing that he could do, then. He ran full-speed at Raguel, and tackled him to the ground. The Archangel was so surprised by the action that he lost focus for a moment, enabling Paul and Gail to get free.

"GO!" Paul yelled at Gail, and she ran through the doors of the building to get help, because their frequencies were still blocked.

Paul ran over to where Chuck and Raguel were wrestling to see if he could help. He tried to pull Raguel away from their friend, but the Archangel swatted at Paul as if he was shooing away a fly, and the Angel clutched at his own throat, unable to breathe.

"You don't deserve to be Angels," Raguel snarled. "You were Demon vermin, and so you shall be again." He raised the blade.

"Bobby!" Gail shouted at the top of her lungs, running into the hall. "Cas! Raguel is outside! Come quick!"

Gabriel swore viciously. So, THAT had been it. He should have known. But Raguel must have some kind of cloaking spell on him, because the beacon should have been a lot stronger. That was why he didn't recognize it for what it was.

"Cas, Gabe, come with me," Bobby instructed. "Everybody else, stay here." The three men popped out immediately. Caterers be damned.

Paul was on his knees, clutching at his throat, unable to speak or even to breathe. Chuck was on his back, underneath Raguel. He'd been struggling with him this whole time, but his powers were no match for the Archangel's. Chuck was a scriptwriter, not a warrior.

"Enjoy married life, Paul," Chuck called out to the young black Angel. "Take care of Laurel for me, please. You and Linda. Tell her I'm sorry. This was the Prophecy." Chuck looked up at Raguel, who was holding the blade poised above his throat. "It turns out I am a good guy, after all. Who knew?" Chuck said to Raguel, laughing shortly. After everything he had done in the past, all of the bad stuff, if this was what the Father required of Chuck, so be it. At least he would die protecting his friends.

Raguel cut Chuck's throat and drained his Grace into the vial, capped it, and then hesitated for a moment. He had what he had come here for. Any second now, the others were going to be here, and they would be on the attack. There was no need to risk a confrontation right now. None.

As Cas, Bobby, Gabriel and Gail popped outside, Raguel plunged his blade into Chuck's chest, killing him. Bobby flung out his arms, sending a salvo of blinding white light at the Archangel, and Cas had his blade in his hand, advancing swiftly. But Raguel was already gone.

Paul fell face first on the ground, nearly unconscious now from the lack of oxygen. Now that Raguel was gone, so was the hold he'd had on Paul, but it was going to take the young Angel a few minutes to come all the way back.

Bobby, Cas and Gail all rushed forward to check on Chuck, while Gabriel went to Paul. They all knew what they'd seen, but it was impossible for them to accept.

Bobby knelt down beside Chuck as Cas and Gail hovered anxiously. But Chuck was dead. He'd died a human, since the Grace had been completely drained from his body, so there had been no release of any essence to try desperately to capture.

Gail was in shock. It had all happened so suddenly. She couldn't process it. It was the same with Cas. He stood there looking down at Chuck's body, and at Bobby, who was shaking his head sadly. Chuck couldn't be dead. He just couldn't be. He and Laurel had just gotten married two weeks ago. They had just gotten back from a short honeymoon in Niagara Falls, of all places. Cliche as it was, Laurel had always wanted to go there. So they'd gone for a few days, but then they'd come back, fairly quickly. Everyone had assumed it was because the new movie had not yet come out for general release, and Chuck may have been needed for some last-minute changes to the script.

Laurel! Gail looked at Cas, wide-eyed. Bobby rose slowly. "I'll go get Laurel," he said heavily, as if Gail had spoken aloud. As Bobby walked back into the building, Gabriel and Paul approached. Paul looked down at Chuck's body, open-mouthed. "He sacrificed himself, for me," Paul said in a raspy voice. "For ME. It should have been the other way around."

Gail burst into tears. "He saved me, too. You both did. Raguel was going to..." Cas put his arms around her and held her, as her voice broke. If Chuck and Paul hadn't done what they had done, that could be her laying there, dead.

"What was he doing here?" Gabriel asked, dazed. "What did he want?"

"Our Grace," Paul said, clearing his throat.

"What the hell FOR?" Gabriel said incredulously. "He's a freaking Archangel!"

"He said it was for someone else. Someone who was more deserving of it than us. Whatever THAT means," Gail said angrily. She was trembling now, both from fear and outrage. "How could he say that? Chuck was a good man!"

"That's what he said to Raguel, just before..." Paul started to say. Now it was his voice that broke, and he tried again. "He said it was a Prophecy."

"Chuck said that?" Cas asked sharply.

"Yeah, Cas," Paul said softly. "He said to tell Laurel he was sorry. That this was the Prophecy."

Laurel came running out of the building. She pushed past Paul and Gabriel and sank to her knees beside Chuck. "No," she said quietly. She took his hand. "No! This can't be true! We just got married!" She started to cry, pressing Chuck's hand to her lips.

Bobby's jaw was set angrily. "Cas. Gabriel. Get over here," he said, gesturing. Cas let go of Gail. His wife moved over to Paul, embracing him. They both needed the comfort right now.

"I told Linda what was going on, and she said she would tell the others," Bobby told the men. "I told them all to stay inside, for now. I didn't want a flood of people coming out here. Laurel deserves a quiet few moments with him." He let out a shaky breath. "Linda's gonna come out here in a minute, and she'll bring Hester with her, so she can see her brother one last time. I'll need Paul and Gail in my office, to tell me just exactly what the frig just happened here. Cas, you and Linda can come with them, of course, but we've gotta find out exactly what Raguel said, while their memories are still fresh. Gabriel, you'll take Chuck's body to his and Laurel's place if she wants, and then you'll organize the other Angels that are in that hall. Make sure the humans get home safe, and for God's sake, make sure you don't leave poor Laurel alone. Or Hester, either."

"Liz will stay with Laurel," Gabriel said soberly. "Don't worry about that. I'll figure out what to do about Hester, too. Don't worry about anything. I'll come to your office after it's all taken care of. Whatever you need me to do to get that son of a bitch, I'll do. Gladly. If I was our so-called Brother, I would be very worried, right now."

Bobby was frowning. He wasn't so sure about that. If they'd been able to find Raguel before this, they could have at least known where he was. But, they wouldn't have been able to eliminate him as a threat, because they had lost the jawbone. So now, he had been allowed to crawl out of the woodwork, kill Chuck for no good reason, and disappear again, leaving behind a grieving widow and sister, and a bunch of shocked and angry Angels, with no clue as to where the bastard might be.

All they could do was what they could do. "I'll be in my office," Bobby said tersely. "I'll see the four of you in a minute." He vanished.

The first Prophecy had been fulfilled. Chuck had already known what his fate would be when he'd had those visions in the library. So he'd written about it in the teaser trailer for the upcoming movie, along with the other visions he'd had. He had written most of them down and enclosed them in a sealed envelope along with a letter of goodbye to Laurel, asking her to deliver the envelope with the Prophecies to Cas. Not Bobby. Cas.

The Angels were about to receive several shocks from Chuck's missive, but the trouble was that aside from the Prophecy about his own demise, Chuck really hadn't received that many specifics. The End was coming. Without the key, the world would lay in ruins. Chuck's death was just the beginning. There were monsters already in their midst, and there would be more to come. Death. Heartbreak. And in one case, a death that should be allowed to occur, because it would be the more sensible option. The Mark of the Beast. First Cas, and then Gail, having to make decisions that would influence the fate of all humankind.

But first, the clearest of the visions.

"Here you are, dear lady," Raguel said, presenting Patricia with the vial.

"Whose is it?" she asked him curiously.

"I apologize that it is not of higher quality," Raguel replied. "It belonged to the Prophet, Chuck. I had no choice. I had to make my escape. I was vastly outnumbered."

Patricia eyed him, but she said nothing. Outnumbered? He was an Archangel, wasn't he? He should be able to incinerate dozens of Angels, with just a wave of his hand. But Bobby had been there, along with Gabriel, Castiel and Gail, so she supposed that his exit had been prudent. She accepted the vial.

"So, we're agreed: you will go to Heaven and get the red file," Raguel said.

Patricia nodded. There was no need to go through it all again. Raguel was reluctant to go to Heaven, for fear of being captured. What a coward. But it would be pointless for him to go, anyway. Only someone who had once held the High Office would be able to gain access to the red files. Raguel had never been God, of course, but Patricia had. And she was afraid of nothing, and no one. She was happy to help obtain the information about the Book of Life. The present status quo could easily be erased with that Book. Many things could be altered. Patricia was out of the mental institution now, but that Book could truly set her free.

She inhaled Chuck's Grace.


	3. Taken

Chapter 3 - Taken

Gail had needed to do something with herself, so she'd asked Sam if she could borrow his laptop. She was clicking idly away at the moment, but her mind was a million miles away.

It was May now, a month after Paul and Linda's wedding and Chuck's murder. On the surface, it appeared as if not much had changed. But in this case, appearances were extremely misleading.

Cas and Gabriel were gone again, scouring the ends of the earth for Raguel. Cas had put his foot down, telling Gail to stay in the bunker, where she would be safe. Normally, his heavy-handedness and refusal to accept her help would probably have caused a fight. But Gail had received a wake-up call the night that Raguel had handled her and Paul so easily. This was way above her league. It had taken five of them to bring down Lucifer, and even then, one of the Originals hadn't survived. Actually, two of the good guys, if you counted the fact that they'd temporarily lost Dean. If Gail went out there after Raguel, loaded for bear, she would just be exposing herself to danger, and Cas wouldn't be able to do his job if he was constantly having to worry about her. So even though Gail was itching to avenge Chuck's death, she buttoned her lip and did what she was told, for a change.

But the depression had set in once she'd been sitting around for a while, doing nothing. Contributing nothing. Cas came back every once in a while with a report, but he was in soldier mode most of the time, and Gail felt too depressed to try to joke him out of it. Besides, she wanted him focused. They needed to find Raguel, before he popped up again and killed another one of them, like the world's deadliest gopher, or something. There had been no need for him to kill Chuck. None. Raguel had already taken Chuck's Grace. He could have left him alive. Chuck would have been a human, but, so what? They had all been humans, at some point. At least he could have kept on living. What the hell gave Raguel the right the decide that Chuck didn't deserve to live? Who did Raguel think he was?

Well, they pretty much knew the answer to THAT now, didn't they? Raguel thought that he was God, or at least, that he SHOULD be. That was why he wanted the Book of Life so badly. But, what did that have to do with killing Chuck? Gail had no idea.

They'd had a somber state funeral in Heaven for Chuck, after the dust had settled. As a Prophet of the Lord, according to Heaven's rules, he was entitled to that. The fact that he'd been a human when he had died was irrelevant, Bobby had stated, and anybody who said otherwise could take a flying leap. Bobby was God, and he made the decisions. A few tongues wagged, especially among the longer-serving Angels, but nothing came of it in the end. Bobby'd been hoping that Chuck would turn up in the Garden, but he had not. Probably that was because he had been an occupant of Hell, and he had done some bad things even when he'd been a human, before that. But after he'd been given a second chance, Chuck had turned out to be an exemplary individual. A good friend. A family member. So, that begged the question: how much reformation was enough? Who decided these things, anyway? Because it sure as hell wasn't him, Bobby fumed. Maybe the original God didn't like the fact that His banishment of Chuck down to Hell had been reversed. But then, if that was what was gonna happen, why should anybody ever try to better themselves, if they had no hope of atoning for their past misdeeds to God's satisfaction? Maybe they should all just run around behaving like giant dicks, then, if that was the way that things worked. A tiny part of Bobby had wanted to call Crowley, just to test out the theory. See if Chuck was back in Hell, now. But then he decided he really didn't want to know. If Chuck was there, Crowley would probably taunt them with relish about that fact anyway, the next time any of them saw him. Which would hopefully not be for a while.

After Chuck's body was interred in Heaven, there was a memorial service for him on Earth. Liz and Karen had made all the arrangements. Hester had been unable to attend the funeral in Heaven, of course, so they had wanted to be sure that she was able to say her goodbyes to Chuck, too. She didn't care about his body, she'd told them. Hester agreed that it belonged in Heaven, because he had died a hero, protecting his friends and fellow Angels. Of course he should have a state funeral there. She was heartbroken, but she was also proud of him. Hester remembered the conversation that she and Cas had had at Christmas about whether Cas truly believed that Chuck had reformed, and renounced his old ways. Well, the manner of and circumstances surrounding his death were a clear signal to Hester that he had, and she was slowly but surely making her peace with his death as a result.

Everyone had gotten up and told funny and endearing stories about Chuck. Chuck the librarian, coming up with Heaven's version of the Yellow Pages. Chuck the friend, quietly popping down to visit Jody, or to offer to run errands for Frank. Many of the people in their circle hadn't even known about that. And when Frank had thanked him, Chuck had just shrugged, saying that was what family did for each other. Chuck, the scriptwriter. Richard had told them all a story about how passionate Chuck had been when he had pitched the idea of having Jody's struggle with breast cancer included in the new film. Many of the studio people thought the storyline was too much of a "downer". What did that have to do with hunting monsters, or saving people? Chuck had felt like tearing his hair right out of his head when they had said that, but he had tried to remain calm as he had explained that there was a lot more to the Supernatural franchise than ghosts and vampires. It was about family, persistence, love, and life. Monsters came in many different forms, and so did battles. Were they aware that the vast majority of their demographic were women? Who among them didn't believe that some of those women might screw up the courage to go for those mammograms they'd been putting off, because Jody Mills had done it? Didn't they want to send the message that women could do battle on many different fronts, and kick ass, even when things were at their bleakest?

There hadn't been a dry eye in the house when Richard had sat down following that story, and Laurel had stood up and thanked him for it. Ordinarily, this was when Frank would have come to the rescue by standing up and telling some bad jokes, but Frank had been too overwhelmed following that story to do anything but frown. So Ethan had gotten up instead, and then so had Kevin, and they had told a few stories about Chuck that people had never heard before. They tried to keep them a bit more on the lighthearted side, eliciting a few laughs from the attendees. But their hearts were heavy, as were everyone's.

After the memorial service, they had all gone back to the bunker to have some drinks. Even Frank put in an appearance, though he didn't stay long. The reason that Richard's speech at Chuck's memorial had been especially powerful was because, after fighting so hard for so long, Jody was on the verge of losing her battle. How much more heartache could they all take?

That didn't seem to matter, Gail thought, as she stared unseeingly at the computer screen. Because, as often happened in situations like these, different family members reacted differently to these types of situations. Cas and Gabriel were men of passion and action, so they had thrown all their energies into finding Raguel, and figuring out a way to kill him. They had gone to see Leah, and asked her to quiz her fellow residents. They had Kevin and Emma working practically 24/7, trying to find anything from the Tablet writings, or the Texts, or the Utterances, that might help. Paul and Linda had abandoned their honeymoon and were currently combing through all the books in Heaven's library, and Gail had volunteered to go through the library at the bunker, yet again, to see if there was anything they had missed the first fourteen times they'd done it, she thought dryly. If she had to be stuck there anyway, she might as well at least appear to be doing something constructive. At times, she'd almost had to look down and make sure she wasn't in a wheelchair, and little Robbie wasn't going to come flying around the corner and jump in her lap. She smiled briefly, but then that thought made her feel bad again, because back then poor Rob had already lost one mother, and he was about to lose another.

Sam and Dean had fought when Dean told his younger brother he wanted to go back on the road, because Sam had refused to go. He wanted to spend some time with Brian, he'd told Dean, and he wanted to stay nearby, in case Frank needed his help for anything. Dean had said that was b.s., that Frank had Bobby and a whole bunch of Angels at his beck and call, and so would Sam and Dean, if their presence was suddenly required at home. And as for Brian, he was just a baby. He wouldn't know the difference. Sam was just a fifteen-foot-tall blob with hair to the kid right now. Then Sam's jaw had set stubbornly, and he'd said that if Dean wanted to go Hunting so bad, he should take Rob and Eric with him. There was safety in numbers, and Jody had told the boys to quit hovering over her. Besides, Sam could help Gail with some research.

Dean had been angry, but Sam had been resolute. So now, Dean and Rob and Eric were off Hunting somewhere, and so were Cas and Gabriel, and every time Gail caught Becky looking at her, Becky was giving her the stink-eye.

Becky was pissed. This all would have been so perfect if Gail wasn't here. She and Sam could finally be alone to bond with each other over their baby. Not only that, but since Brian was just a baby, if he wasn't being fed, burped, or diapered, he was pretty much just laying there in his crib. She and Sam would have had a lot of great domestic time together to talk, and make meals, and...

Yeah? And how does Sam stand on eating live animals and drinking their blood, anyway? the little voice in her head said. But Becky silenced that voice immediately. Never mind that. What she needed was a way to get rid of Gail.

Brian was in his bassinet on the library room table now. Becky was eating lunch, Sam was reading, and Gail was still staring at the computer screen. Sam smiled thinly. "Are you going to use the computer, or just stare at the screen saver all day?"

Gail looked at him expressionlessly. "Why? Did you want to use it?" she asked him.

"No, I just..." he started to say, and then he gave up.

"Sam, I just don't know what I'm supposed to do," Gail said, frustrated. "We've been through everything a million times. I need to do something productive here, or I'll go nuts. I'm worried Cas and Gabriel won't find Raguel. Or, I'm worried they WILL."

Sam put the book down and looked at her with such compassion that Becky's hand tightened on her fork until her knuckles were white. "I know something you can do," the younger Winchester said to Gail. "You can look at the stuff that Abigail gave us, and winnow down the list. You've got the list of the ones who were in the compound - sorry, - and you've got the names that Rob gave you, right? I know that has nothing to do with finding Raguel, but at least it's something constructive to do, on another front."

Gail sighed. She supposed he had a point. They'd been meaning to put together a master list of Vincent's offspring, and they had also discussed trying to figure out which of them Benoit and Dr. Roarke had taken, and what "talents" they had. With everything else that had been going on, that aspect of the whole thing had kind of gotten swept under the rug of crap that was their lives right now. But Gail realized that they'd better get a little more proactive about that, too. Otherwise, Vincent was just going to pop up one day like an evil jack-in-the-box, just like Raguel had, and who knew what HE would do?

So Gail pushed her chair back and got up, moving to go and get the list from the box in the storeroom, and an instant later, the bookcase behind where she'd been sitting fell down with a crash. Fortunately, it wasn't a tall piece of furniture, but it was heavy. If she hadn't moved as quickly as she had, she might very well have been knocked into next week by the thing, at the very least.

Gail let out a cry of surprise, and Sam jumped to his feet. "Holy crap!" he exclaimed, looking at Gail and Becky. Brian was laying in the bassinet beside Becky, and since the bookshelf hadn't hit the table, the baby was undisturbed. But, it was peculiar: he was waving his arms and kicking his little legs wildly. The noise must have scared him, Sam reasoned.

Becky was already on it. She took Brian out of the bassinet and held him, bouncing him up and down. But he didn't seem upset to her. He didn't cry. He didn't even fuss. He just looked at her with those dark eyes of his.

She continued to bounce him gently. It was too bad that bookshelf hadn't been a little bit taller, Becky thought. Then Sam could have called Cas to come and mop Gail's brains up from the floor, and then maybe, just maybe, Gail would finally...just...go...away.

Incredibly, Brian laughed. "Oh, my God, Sam!" Becky exclaimed. "Did you see that?"

But Sam hadn't, because he was already on the other side of the table, checking all the bookcases to make sure they were anchored. He put his hand on Gail's arm. "I'm sorry. I don't know what happened," he told her. "I'm gonna get the tools out, and make sure this whole thing's secure. Maybe you should take my laptop and go into the kitchen for the time being, just to be on the safe side."

"What about me and Brian?" Becky said, pouting a little.

Sam shrugged. "You're fine where you are. There aren't any bookcases down at that end. But, it's up to you."

Becky's lips tightened. He was right, but she was the mother of his baby, and she was holding his son right now, and if he didn't get his arm the hell off of Gail, Becky was going to -

Sam removed his hand from Gail's arm, and his Angel friend grabbed the laptop and left the library area. And Baby Brian smiled.

Raguel was growing impatient. It had been a month since they had struck up their deal, and Patricia still hadn't kept her end of the bargain.

"It's a little more complicated than that," she told him irritably. "Bobby's receptionist, Laurel, is sitting right in front of the cabinet where the red files are kept."

"Why don't you just wait until she leaves, then?" the Archangel asked, puzzled.

Patricia pursed her lips together. She was trying not to antagonize the man, but honestly, did he think that SHE was the idiot, here? "Because she never does!" she exclaimed. "She is a widow now, because you killed her husband. From what I have seen, she works both day and night. And if by some miracle she were called away from her post, Bobby is almost always there, too. Or Castiel, or Gabriel."

"What would THEY be doing there?" he asked warily.

Really? He couldn't figure that out? Patricia was beginning to see why Raguel worked alone.

"They're attempting to use Heavenly means to look for you," she said to him, as if speaking to a child. "How effective is your cloaking? I don't want you bringing them down on me. If they find me, they'll throw me in Heaven's prison."

"Don't you concern yourself with that," he said off-handedly.

Sure. That was easy for him to say, Patricia thought resentfully. He was an Archangel. She had the Grace of a mere Prophet.

Raguel was looking at her coolly now. "You know, if you are not happy with our arrangement, I can always take the Grace back," he said. "I was under the impression that you wanted to assist me in restoring Heaven to its former glory. If that is not the case, you can continue to live your meagre existence here on Earth. When I take Heaven, perhaps I will spare you."

Patricia froze. She could tell he meant it, too. The trouble was, she didn't have the power to challenge him, at least not right now. A part of her wondered if he had chosen a lesser Angel for just that reason. But she forced herself to bow her head. "My apologies," she said in a subdued tone. "I do not mean to seem ungrateful. On the contrary. I owe you a debt of gratitude for restoring me to the status of an Angel, and I fully intend to follow through on our agreement. But I will be unable to be of service to you from a jail cell. I think we will have to wait until their next gathering on Earth, one that they will all attend. That way, my way will be clear."

"You know, there is another alternative," Raguel said calmly.

"What is that?" she inquired.

He took his blade out and laid it on the table.

Cas was fuming. He was pacing back and forth in his office, and Gabriel had been watching him for a couple of minutes, letting him blow off some steam. But his Brother showed no signs of slowing down, and Gabe was getting dizzy.

"Admit it, Cas. We've run out of ideas," Gabriel said. Cas stopped and looked at him. "That is unacceptable to me," Cas said, tight-lipped. His Brother always lapsed into AngelSpeak when he was like this.

Gabriel shrugged. "Doesn't matter. Raguel doesn't give a rat's patootie about what's 'acceptable' to you. I think it's high time we stopped kidding ourselves. How bad do you want this guy?"

The sharklike glint appeared in Cas's eyes. "Raguel tried to make me hurt Gail, and he very nearly succeeded in doing it. Because of his actions, she spent time in Hell. It was only due to her indomitable spirit that I am standing here today. Raguel killed Chuck, for absolutely no reason. He did not kill Chuck to take his Grace. He already had it. He killed Chuck to spite us. Pure and simple. I want him, Gabriel."

"Well, in that case, you know what we have to do, don't you?" Gabriel said calmly. "If we can't find him by legitimate means, we'll have to find him by illegitimate ones."

Cas's lips were pursed so tightly together now that they almost disappeared. And things had been going so well, too. He hated to admit it, but Gabriel was right. The only question was, what was Crowley going to want in return?

"No. I don't want to kill Laurel," Patricia said to Raguel.

"Really? So, you were willing to drug Castiel into insanity and deny him due process, but you are unwilling to dispatch a mere receptionist in order to achieve an idyllic future?" the Archangel said bluntly.

Patricia closed her fists under the table. How DARE he speak about her as if she was a common thug? He had no idea what she had been through. None. "Don't you think that Bobby Singer might be just a little bit perturbed to find a dead receptionist right outside his office? Not to mention the fact that I will have to open the cabinet and rifle through all the files until I find the right one. By the time I did that, the cuffs would be on and I would be in prison, without the file, facing a life sentence. Unless Castiel could convince Bobby to invoke the death penalty, of course. If you know so much about me, you know that the two of them conspired to send me to that mental institution and rob me of my Grace, in the first place. Do I seem insane to you?"

Raguel frowned, but he had to admit that she did not. He supposed she had a point. There was no sense sending her in there as a sneak thief if she ended up getting caught.

"All right. We will bide our time, then," he said reluctantly.

Gail had been working on the list for a while, and she was fairly certain she had it narrowed down to 42 individuals, 8 of whom were likely in Europe, doing Lord only knew what. Rob had been receiving flashes of first names in connection with Benoit, and she was pretty sure she had those ones isolated now. They were all young adults except for Jerry, who was a small child. But Gail was wavering about that one, because the child was black. They all knew what kind of a vile man Benoit was. Would he really have taken a child of colour? She reviewed the so-called "talents" of each of them, to see how much of a threat they might be. The results were inconclusive. These files were a lot more comprehensive than the ones they'd looked at before, but the information on the abilities of each person was lacking in detail. For the most part, Gail had found that the older the subject, the more well-developed their abilities seemed to be. But in some cases, it had also seemed that they had barely scratched the surface during the testing. If Benoit had taken the ones he had deemed to have the most potential, the idea of what they could be capable of scared her.

So, assuming that 8 had gone to Europe, that left 34 surviving "children", although most of them were adults of varying ages. That included Rob, Eric, Gail herself, and also JD, who had not died in the compound, but at the end of Gail's knife. That left 30, and Gail knew of one more: Vincent and Placida's original son, Raymond, who belonged to a Christian church somewhere in the Southern U.S. When it came time to locate the offspring, in most cases they had names, approximate ages, and last-known locations. And, in some cases, they even had photos. Gail scanned the 29 remaining files, to see if any of the faces were in any way familiar to her.

She felt a jolt. There WAS one face she recognized! Holy moly. What an amazing coincidence. You couldn't write something like this in a book or a movie, because no one would ever believe it. Then her heart sank. She wished she hadn't thought that. The pain from Chuck's death was still so fresh. She should find out how Laurel was doing. At last report, Chuck's widow spent almost all of her time working. But far be it from Gail to tell someone else how to grieve. She herself had been borderline certifiable when Cas had died. Both times. If Laurel found that it helped her to throw herself into her work, who was Gail to say she shouldn't? Look what Gail was doing right now.

She got up from the table and rushed down the hall. About halfway down to the library, she spotted Sam in the weapons room. He had the cabinet open, and he was doing a quick inventory. Dean had called, wanting to know how many silver bullets they had. He and the boys had just used a bunch. Now they were on their way to Eugene, Oregon, to check on some mysterious disappearances there.

"You'll be glad to know I reinforced the bookshelves," Sam told her. "I still don't know how that happened. But it would take a significant seismic event to dislodge them now."

Gail smiled. "I like how you aren't afraid to use words of more than one syllable around me."

"That's because I know YOU know what they mean," Sam replied with a grin.

"You're never going to guess who I think I recognize on the computer," Gail told him.

"Well, with those lack of specifics, I'm sure you're right," Sam said affably.

"Are you done here? I want to show you, and see if you agree with me. The name on the file is different, so I want to make sure I'm not imagining the resemblance," Gail said.

"OK; now I'm intrigued," Sam remarked. "Hold on. Just let me lock up here." He closed the cabinet and put the padlock on. It snapped closed, and he gave it a tug, just to make sure. Then he put the key in his pants pocket. "Lead on, Macduff."

They headed off to the kitchen, and a moment later, Becky emerged from the next room. She was livid. She'd taken Brian to her room for his nap, and she had been coming down the hall to bring her dishes to the kitchen. Then she'd heard the two of them talking, and she'd ducked into the next room to listen.

They were so mean. They were joking around about how stupid Becky was. Well, she wasn't so stupid that she didn't know when she was being insulted. How dare they talk about her behind her back like that? SHE was the mother of Sam's child, not Gail, but Gail was a shameless bitch. Cas was out there doing his Heavenly duty, and Gail was just hanging around here, being in the way. Couldn't that woman survive for more than five minutes without having some man's attention focused on her? Well, she wasn't getting Sam's. Becky had worked too long and too hard to worm her way into Sam's life.

But what was Becky supposed to do about it? She wished she had Vincent's phone number. He could probably give her some good advice. But, he was gone. She walked slowly back to her room and sat on the edge of the bed, looking at Brian in his crib. He was her only friend, now. Was it any wonder she wanted to be with him all the time? She poured her heart out to him, and he looked at her like he understood every word that she was saying.

"Gail wants to take everything away from me," Becky told Brian. "She hates me, and she hates you, too. If she had her way, we'd both be dead. No wonder her own father hates her. Vincent knows what a scheming little tramp she is. Well, I wish Vincent was here, right now. He'd tell me what to do about her."

And then two things happened, simultaneously. They were horrible, impossible, exhilarating things. Brian's eyes, which had been drooping in preparation for his nap, snapped wide open, and he said, "Vincent".

And the padlock on the weapons cabinet unlocked itself, clattering to the floor.

Bobby had finally been able to persuade Laurel to take a short break, and she went back to her and Chuck's little apartment in Heaven, because she didn't know what else to do. There were a few things that she should be doing there anyway, things that she had been putting off, because everything there reminded her of Chuck.

Following their honeymoon in Niagara Falls, they had moved his things here, into her apartment. He'd made overnight visits to her place before, of course, and she to his, prior to their wedding. She wasn't THAT old-fashioned. But she'd been old-fashioned enough to want to live apart until their wedding night, so it would seem more special.

Because they were Angels, naturally, there was no prospect of having children. But Laurel had wanted the two of them to get a house together, anyway. Chuck should have a writing room, at the very least. Since Laurel had worked long hours for God, she hadn't needed much in the way of living quarters. But she'd told Chuck she wanted to take a leaf out of Cas's book and try keeping a small garden in the back yard of their prospective home. One signature legacy of Cas's term in the High Office had been the introduction of simulations of nature in Heaven. Prior to Cas's influence, Heaven had always been a sterile, mostly white, industrial sort of environment, with lots of offices for work, and little else. But then he and Gail had introduced laughter, love, and colour, and things had blossomed from there. A ball diamond, a school, a sparkling, pristine lake behind Bobby's cabin to fish in, and house gardens for those individuals who had green thumbs. Nanette and Henri kept gardens now, and Milo and Ethan had both gone to Bobby's cabin to try their hands at fishing.

Laurel wept silent tears as she stood in the bedroom of the apartment, thinking about all of that. Chuck had said that he was just fine with whatever she wanted to do, saying they would talk about it some more after Paul and Linda's wedding. But now that Laurel thought about it, there had really been no need for them to wait. They could have moved immediately, if they'd wanted to. Heaven was Heaven, and things worked differently there. You didn't have to hire movers, and get your damage deposit back. If you wanted a house, you just asked whoever was God at the time, and God would provide. Chuck must have known that it would be a moot point. He'd been a damn Prophet, hadn't he?

She looked down at the bed they'd shared, and suddenly, Laurel was overcome with rage. Why? Why? Kevin was a Prophet, too, and Paul had been a full-fledged Demon, who had aided and abetted Lucifer. Why had the Father demanded this sacrifice of Chuck? Yes, he hadn't been perfect, but he had made himself into a good man. They had just gotten married. They were going to begin a life together. Laurel had known that Chuck wasn't perfect. Of course she had. But, who was? Castiel was a murderer, many times over. Gabriel was a Lothario, a drunken ne'er-do-well. Just because he was with Liz right now didn't mean he was a boy scout. Even Bobby. He had once been married to Rowena, the King of Hell's mother, and Crowley was Gail's brother. Laurel could go on and on. There were much higher-ranking Angels than Chuck who enjoyed God's favour, and they had done much worse.

Why Chuck? And, why Laurel, for that matter? She had served the High Office for years, loyal and faithful to whoever the apparent revolving door of the Office had settled on. Why had the Father allowed Laurel to drop her guard enough to finally fall in love, only to pull the rug out from underneath her so cruelly?

She grabbed the bedsheets with both hands, tearing them off the bed. She and Chuck had made love here the morning of Paul and Linda's wedding, joking that they'd better not be late because they'd heard that the Korean ceremony was very short. Chuck had been so loving, so tender...She flung the pillows across the room. In a minute, she was going to get some matches and burn it all down, just like the Father had done to her, and her hopes.

A white envelope lay on the bare mattress, where the pillows had been. What? Laurel leaned down to pick it up. "My Dearest Laurel" was written on the front. She sank slowly down to sit on the edge of the bed, staring at it, open-mouthed. This hadn't been here before. She knew it hadn't, because she'd made the bed herself the night before Paul and Linda's wedding. She let out a sob. Chuck must have slipped it under the pillows, for her to find after...

She tore it open. Chuck had written:

"My Dearest Darling Laurel,

"I hope you won't mind the Cas-and-Gail verbiage there, just for a moment. I know we all tease them quite a bit, but we also know that we all want to be that lucky, don't we? And we were, Laurel. We truly were.  
"But, by the time you read this letter, I'll be dead. A while back, I received a series of Prophecies, which are written down in the enclosed envelope. Please deliver it to Cas, and only Cas. He'll know what to do with it. Tell him I'm sorry that most of them are so vague, but such is the gift, and the curse, of Prophecy.  
"The only specific and detailed Prophecy I received, maybe fittingly enough, was the one that concerned my own death. I didn't know exactly where or when it was going to happen, not at first. But, I was shown that Raguel was going to take my Grace, and then kill me. It was unavoidable. If it hadn't been me, then it would have been Paul, or Gail. Or Bobby, Or you. All I knew was that I was going to be the one who had to sacrifice myself, so that he didn't kill one of you.  
"I had so much to atone for, Laurel. So much. Years ago, when I was a human, I lied, cheated, and stole. Ask Hester. There was a reason we were estranged for all those years. I was a Class-A, card-carrying dick. I used to resort to fraud and various other schemes to get money, because I was too lazy to work for it, like everybody else does. I used to justify that by saying that we grew up really poor. Waaah, waaah, waaah. Poor Chuck. But that excuse didn't cut it, because many other people grow up poor, too. What made me think that there was anything special about me, or my circumstance? Did the world owe me a living, just because I'd happened to be born into it? No, of course not. But did I act like it did, anyway? Absolutely.  
"Then I had the inspiration to write the first Supernatural book, and gradually, that changed my whole life. But it was funny, really. Here I was, thinking that I was 'all that and a bag of chips', as people used to say, because I had done something creative, something people actually enjoyed. I thought I had made up Sam and Dean Winchester in my head. They had issues with their parents, because I'd had issues with mine. They were always broke, and sleeping in cheap motels too, because, well, duh. Dean was promiscuous, and they both drank a lot. Hell-oooo. The only aspect I thought I'd made up from whole cloth was the supernatural angle. Ghosts, vampires, other assorted monsters. But any shrink worth his or her salt will tell you that the Demons and monsters that the brothers ran around killing were mine. All well and good, until you realize that there's an endless pit of monsters. Try as Sam and Dean might, they would never be able to eradicate them all. In fact, it could be persuasively argued that now, there were even more. My books started getting me money, and attention. Lots and lots of attention. I wish I could tell you that I didn't take women to bed just because they said they liked my books. I really wish I could tell you that. But I'd be lying, and we both know it. I guess you could argue that those women used me too, but I should have been a decent human being about it. Instead, I became conceited beyond measure, obsessed with my own literary genius. Yeah, I know, right?  
"It got even worse. When I found out that Sam and Dean were real people and not just figments of my fertile imagination, you would think that would have slowed my roll, wouldn't you? But that gave me even more of an inflated sense of self-importance. I found out that I was an actual Prophet of the Lord, a seer of things that were to come. Wow. Imagine how heady that felt. I, and I alone, would determine the direction which those boys' lives took. Me. A guy who couldn't even run his own life. What the hell was whoever was in charge of this stuff thinking? So I started putting them into increasingly more bizarre and dangerous situations, just because I was wondering how on earth they were going to get out of them. Then I introduced Cas, and the Angels and Demons, and things just sort of snowballed from there. They weren't happy about it, but that was just too bad. I was only doing what God wanted me to, I told them. What the hell did I care if they were suffering, and losing their loved ones? I was getting paid, wasn't I? Plenty of money, to buy booze and cheap hookers. Actually, some of them weren't so cheap. When I became more successful, I hired call girls who would come over and abuse and degrade me, because deep down, I knew that was what I really deserved.  
"This went on for a while, until finally, something had to give. The Winchesters and Cas ended up averting the Apocalypse. The books were supposed to end there. Sam was supposed to fall into the pits of Hell, Dean was supposed to be brought to despair trying to save him, and Cas was going to go back to Heaven, secure in the knowledge that he had done the right thing. Bobby was going to drink himself to death within a year from that day, and eventually Dean was going to get married and have kids. He would tell his boys about their Uncles Sam and Bobby when they got old enough to understand, and warn them that Angels were dicks, although there was one blue-eyed, trenchcoat-wearing one that wasn't half bad, he would say, with a faraway look in his eyes. The kids would grow up in an idyllic world, never knowing anything about monsters, or killing, or hate. "Well, that was the way that things were supposed to go, anyway. But since when does that ever happen, right? The boys busted me. They saw through my whole charade. Prophet of the Lord, my ass. More like Prophet of my own ego. Is it any coincidence that 'Prophet' and 'profit' sound the same? I think not. Well, not in my case, anyway.  
"So then, having outlived my usefulness to Him on Earth, God the Father brought me home. Shouldn't that have been my wake-up call, right there?  
"But, no. Of course not. Guys like I was back then are never satisfied. God screwed me. That was the way I looked at it. He brought me to fame and fortune, and then He snuffed out my young life before I had the chance to really enjoy any of it. How was that fair?  
"So I resented, God, and Heaven, and the Angels, and everybody, and everything. All the so-called bad stuff that had ever happened to me was everybody else's fault but mine. I was God's Prophet, but He couldn't even look me in the eye most of the time. He knew what kind of individual I still was. Even though I was in Heaven, my thoughts were dark and twisted. I wanted revenge.  
"Cas got caught in the crosshairs, mainly because he was everything I wasn't: tall, handsome, brave, strong. Honourable. Loved by God. He walked around Heaven like he was the Crown Prince, or something. And the last straw was when I saw that he'd been given a cute little Angel girlfriend. Where was mine? I had helped avert the Apocalypse too, in a way, hadn't I?  
"So I began to conspire with Metatron, and I manipulated poor lovesick Aurielle like she was some kind of wind-up doll, programmed to kill on demand. I knew what both of them were capable of. Of course I did. I have no excuses.  
"And you know the rest. Well, most of it, anyway. There's not much left to confess to. You name the Sin, I committed it. You name the Commandment, I broke it. I laid with Rowena in Paris, when I was supposed to be a good guy, and let her do painful and degrading things to me while she was corrupting me to be her blunt instrument. I used my gift as a Prophet to be the worst sort of voyeur imaginable, when I spied on Cas and Gail's intimacies in the bedroom, and I coveted them both at one point. I came very close to actually crossing that line, when I was alone with Gail in the library, and Rowena's spell was swimming in my veins. But once again, I make no excuses for myself. A sculptor makes the statue, but he or she still has to start with raw clay, right? If I hadn't had those impulses in me to begin with, there would've been nothing to bring out.  
"But, despite all of that, I was allowed to stay in Heaven, and stay an Angel. I had no idea why, up until this last little while. But now, I do. God was waiting for the right time.  
"But, before He took me for good this time, He showed me the ultimate mercy and gave me you, if only for a short time. In the olden days, I might very well have been bitter about that too, saying he was being extra-cruel in allowing us to find each other and then taking everything away from us just as quickly. But I'm not that guy any more, Laurel. I swear I'm not. I'm going to go to my grave thanking Him, instead. The love you gave me was good, and pure, and I certainly didn't deserve it. But, when I close my eyes for the last time, it'll be you and that love that I'll remember most of all. And most of all, I'll remember what an honour and a privilege it was for me to call myself your husband.

"With My Eternal Love And Gratitude,

Chuck."

Laurel sat there staring at the letter in her hands, weeping silently. She'd had no idea it was possible to cry this many tears. Then she sniffled, looking in the envelope for the other envelope that Chuck had referred to. There it was; another, smaller white envelope. It was sealed. She was supposed to give it to Cas. SHOULD she? Didn't she have the right to know what was in it? Did she even WANT to know what was in it?

"That's Aggie. Agnes Bidwell," Sam said, looking at the picture on the screen. "Her hair is lighter here, and the name is different, but I'm sure it's her."

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Gail said, nodding vigorously. Then she let out a breath. "Aggie's my sister, Sam. Or my half-sister, I guess. Wow. That's pretty freaky." Then she smiled. "I guess she got all the height in the family." There was a pause. "So what are we supposed to DO with this information?" Gail asked her friend.

Sam sat back from the computer, musing. "You know, this could be some kind of a sign," he said slowly. "She's a detective, isn't she? Maybe she can help us. She already knows about our situation. Maybe we need to have a bit more of a conversation with her, about Vincent."

Gail shrugged. "Yeah, maybe. Too bad Cas is so busy looking for Raguel. I could have him pop us over there."

"What do you need HIM for?" Sam said jokingly. "Are your wings in the shop?"

Gail lifted an eyebrow. "With the kind of mood he's been in recently, do you really think it's a good idea for me to just pop out of here, when he specifically told me to stay put?"

"Since when are you so obedient?" Sam asked her bluntly.

Gail sighed. "Since Chuck. Since I realized I'm not as strong as I think I am, sometimes. Since I remembered that guys like Raguel aren't playing games. I don't want anybody else getting hurt, Sam. I'm not being 'obedient', I'm scared. What if Cas does find Raguel? What if we were to find Vincent? Then, what? Are we just going to sit them down and ask them nicely not to be so evil? To please, please just leave us alone?"

Sam could see her point. The reason their enemies had eluded them for so long was because they were formidable, and they didn't care who they had to hurt in order to accomplish what they wanted. But what did Vincent want to accomplish, anyway? They still didn't know. Raguel wanted to find the Book of Life, and if he did, they were all screwed. He wondered if Cas and Gabriel were making any progress on their search.

They were, and they weren't.

Crowley had ended up coming when Castiel and Gabriel had summoned him, simply because he was curious. He thought he had a pretty good idea of what they'd be after, though. The Prophet Chuck was dead, killed by one of his own. Wasn't that just too bad. Crowley and his kind had been leaving the Holy Rollers alone, but here they were anyway, down a member. Well, what did they want him to do about it? Mourn? Not too bloody likely. Chuck had been a smarmy little weasel, who'd changed sides so often Crowley was surprised he'd even known which team he was playing for, any more. The King of Hell hadn't completely bought that reformation act of Chuck's. It was funny how the Angels were so willing to just accept that people were capable of that kind of change. Chuck. Aurielle. Paul. Metatron. The list was growing. But, Crowley was skeptical. Sure, you could play both sides, if you needed to. He himself often had, depending upon what suited him best at the time. But a leopard that changed its spots to stripes was just a tiger, then, wasn't it? People may have bouts of conscience from time to time, or dabble in wickedness if they were inherently good. But when it came right down to it, their nature was their nature.

Like his "Brothers", here. The instant Crowley had seen Castiel, the King knew that he was on the verge of a full-blown temper tantrum. Cas had lost yet another one of his charges, and he was looking for payback. Well, it was his own fault, wasn't it? Castiel had had that jawbone right in his hands, and he'd let Metatron nick it. That whole thing was still puzzling to Crowley. Like many of the principals involved in the Saqqaran saga, Crowley wondered why on earth Metatron would have taken the jawbone, if he hadn't intended to use it. Metatron was dead now, but where the hell was the bloody jawbone?

"What's new, gentlemen? How is everyone? Well, I trust?" Crowley said, trying not to smirk too widely. He peered at Gabriel. "You're looking a little tired, Gabriel. Is monogamy wearing you out? Why don't you save that poor girl a lot of heartache and just let her down easily now?" Then he looked at Cas. "I see you've got my sister on lockdown. That's probably wise. You're already down a Prophet, and from what I hear, you're going to be down a Hunter soon, too." He paused. "Actually, I take that back. I always respected Jody. That's going to be a shame. Especially when there are so many other, worthier candidates for the grave."

"Be quiet about that," Cas said sharply. "We're here to talk about business. Nothing more."

"Fair enough," Crowley said calmly. "Let me cut to the chase, then. You want me to facilitate a meeting with my mother, so that she will remove the cloaking spell she put on Raguel. Right?"

"Correct," Cas said tersely.

Crowley stroked his beard. "Interesting. Interesting. Now, what makes you think I know where my mother is? If I did, don't you think she'd be dead by now?"

"We know you can't kill her," Gabriel said.

Crowley inclined his head in acknowledgement. That was, unfortunately, true. Once someone used Rowena's revival spell to bring someone else back from the dead, it benefitted the caster of the spell nearly as much as it did the lucky recipient, because the recipient would then be unable to kill their benefactor. It was just the way the spell worked. So, because his mother had once brought Crowley back from the dead in a hot moment of sentiment, he was physically incapable of killing his mother. Just as Dean would be incapable of killing Gail, were it ever to come to that. Not that there would be any reason for Dean to want to kill Gail. After all, he wasn't married to her any more. Crowley smiled at that thought. Too bad Gail wasn't here; he could have gotten her good with that one.

"What are you smiling about?" Castiel growled.

"I'm just wondering what favour I should get you to perform for me, if I agree to help you with your request," Crowley said idly. "Can you juggle, Cas? Actually, never mind. I know you can. You've been doing it for years. So many deceptions, so little time. And you, Gabriel? What kind of favour could YOU do for me? Nothing I'd really want, I'm sure."

"Let's go, Cas. He's just yanking our chain," Gabriel said contemptuously.

"Not necessarily," Crowley said, holding up his hand. "It just so happens that I'm considering it. It does me no good to have Raguel running around loose, looking for the Book of Life. If he finds it, he's going to come after me and my Kingdom. Bobby Singer has left me be, because he knows that it's smarter to maintain the status quo. Now that you're not running the show any more - " he sneered at Cas " - I don't have to be on my guard for sudden attacks. But, Raguel? That's a level of religious fanaticism I can certainly do without. But I genuinely don't know where my mother is. She's cloaked, too."

"See? I told you. We're just wasting our time, here," Gabriel said to Cas, frustrated.

"What's your hurry? Late for Happy Hour?" Crowley said dryly, looking at the Archangel. "I didn't say I didn't have a way to try to get her."

Cas was puzzled. "What? You have a way to try to find her? Then why haven't you done it?"

The King nodded. His brother may be insufferable most of the time, but he was also astute. "That's a very logical, reasonable question, Castiel," he remarked. "And the answer is: because I would need your wife to help me do it, and because she comes with a side order of you, I haven't bothered."

Gabriel's lips twitched, for a brief moment. He hated Crowley, of course, but he had to admit, that had been a good one. Just because Gabriel was supposedly a Hero of Heaven now, that didn't mean he couldn't appreciate a little humour at someone else's expense.

Cas sighed. "Explain."

Crowley's eyes glittered. "As we are both her children, if Gail and I both contribute our blood to an ancient location spell, we should be able to lure our dear mother out of the woodwork."

Cas looked at his brother expressionlessly, but his stomach churned. Of course. It was easy to compartmentalize his emotions when he was on a mission without her, but the bottom line was, through no fault of her own, Gail was indeed the King of Hell's sister, and Rowena's daughter. And now, his poor darling would have to be subjected to another evil family reunion, if they hoped to find Raguel.

"We'll think about it," Cas said, tight-lipped. He vanished without another word, leaving a flummoxed Gabriel standing there with the King. "Well, we'll be seeing you," the Archangel said to Crowley. "Good line about the side order, by the way. I'll slip you five bucks if you tell that one to Gail, when we see you next. Gotta go; it's Happy Hour. Somewhere."

As Gabriel snapped his fingers and disappeared, Crowley smirked again. Yes. Leopards didn't change their spots. They just used those spots for camouflage, when it suited their purposes.

Pleased with his metaphor, Crowley snapped his fingers and disappeared, too.

After hiding her little piece of insurance under the mattress, Becky turned back to look at Brian, uncertainty on her face. What the hell was going on, here? Her baby was less than two months old, and he was talking? No. That couldn't be.

When Brian had said Vincent's name, or at least, when she'd thought she heard him say it, Becky hastily amended, she'd picked him up and looked closely at him. Her son just lay there in her arms, looking at her calmly as he almost always did. But then his little hand had touched her finger, and when that had happened, Becky was suddenly picturing Gail, standing over Brian's crib with her Angel blade clutched in her hand.

"You had this baby under false pretenses," Gail hissed, brandishing the knife. "Sam doesn't want it, and he doesn't want you. He's too tender-hearted to do what needs to be done. But I'm not." Then she began to stab Brian, over and over, until Becky's little son was screaming and screaming...

Becky put Brian back down in his crib. Then she crept down the hallway. She could hear Gail and Sam talking in the kitchen. That hateful, homewrecking bitch. Becky had better defend herself, and her son. Her and Sam's son. Not that Gail cared about that. From the instant Becky had told Sam that she was having his baby, Becky'd had to put up with Gail, scheming behind her back. Trying to turn Sam against her by suggesting that she was faking her pregnancy. Then, when that didn't work, Gail had started in on Becky in other ways, saying she'd probably slept with other guys, and one of them was the father. Luckily, Sam hadn't fallen for that, because both he and Becky had known that Becky had been a virgin when the two of them had slept together. What was Gail going to try next? She wouldn't hurt an innocent little baby, would she? As much as Becky wanted to hate Gail's guts right now, she didn't really believe that she would. Sure, Gail had an acid tongue sometimes and a bit of a mean streak that the men overlooked because she had them all wrapped around her finger, but she wasn't, like, evil, or anything. But then, why was Becky becoming increasingly concerned for her and Brian's safety?

In the end, Becky's maternal instinct won out. She couldn't afford to take the chance. She'd been on her way to the kitchen to see Sam, but she ducked into the weapons room instead, because she'd known what she was going to see there. Brian had shown her, when his tiny hand had touched her finger.

She'd better hurry. She opened the cabinet door, grabbed an Angel blade, and closed it quietly, putting the padlock back on. Then she went back to her and Brian's room, sliding the blade under the mattress on the bed. Just in case.

Cas and Gabriel showed up at the bunker, together, a few minutes later. Gabe had correctly guessed that Cas would head straight there after their meeting with Crowley. If the spell was going to work, there was no sense in delaying its execution. They would still have to figure out how to convince Rowena to help them, somehow. None of the Angels knew, of course, that the witch and the Archangel had washed their hands of each other a while back. If they had, they would probably have tried to contact her a long time ago.

But first, before they'd arrived, Gail had brought Sam's laptop back into the library area and she was still reading the files and looking at the pictures of Vincent's offspring. Now that she looked, really looked closely, she was pretty sure she remembered the ones who Rob said were with Benoit in Europe. What did he plan to do with them? Maybe they should be concentrating on that angle, first. Because the only scenarios her brain had been able to come up with ranged from disturbing, to downright terrifying. They all knew what kind of man Benoit was. They had spent time in his little nest of vipers there in Paris. Lord only knew how many people would have died if Cas hadn't blown up that headquarters. But the group's leader had gotten away, and leopards didn't change their spots, did they? Gail thought, unconsciously mirroring Crowley's thought of a few minutes ago.

Right on cue, the Angels popped in, and Gail rushed over to Cas. "Hi, sweetie! How are you? Is everything all right? Are you OK?" she said anxiously. He nodded, putting his arm around her.

"I'm fine, too, thanks for asking," Gabriel said dryly.

As Gail smiled at him, Cas said, "We have news. There may be a way to locate Raguel. But first, we need your help."

"Mine?" Gail said, and her heart leapt. Finally, she could help. "Just let me go home and get my blade, and - "

"Well, you're close. Just a few letters off," Gabriel quipped.

"Hey guys, how's it going?" Sam said. He was coming out of the hallway with the baby in his arms.

Gabriel approached Sam. "So, this is the little guy I've been hearing so much about," the Archangel said. "Boy, he's small. Or maybe it's just because you're so big. Better start him on the double portions, Sam."

Sam decided to ignore Gabe's lame attempts at humour. "Actually, that's what I was about to do. Feed him," he remarked. "It's time for him to eat, and Becky's sound asleep. Cas, would you mind holding Brian while I go heat up his bottle?"

Mind? Of course he wouldn't mind, Cas thought, stretching out his arms. He loved holding babies. It was kind of funny, though. Every time Cas had held the infant, Brian just looked at him calmly. But whenever Sam had tried to give the baby to Gail, he fussed and fidgeted. Gail had joked that that was yet one more thing that Cas was better at than her, and that she was going to develop a complex soon, if babies kept reacting like that around her. But then Cas had pointed out that the same thing had happened with Angela when she'd been a baby. But Frank's daughter loved her Aunt Gail now. Whenever they went over to Frank's house, Angela would come running into the room, asking if Gail would read stories with her. She would bestow Poochie upon Gail like she was leaving her Aunt in charge of guarding the crown jewels, then run and get a book. Angela pretty much ran everywhere around the house, Frank had advised. It was like she was just so excited to get to her next activity that she felt like she had to hurry. The sad part about that was that the little girl seemed to have picked up on the prevailing emotion in their house right now, which was that they were all running out of time. So she would sit and read with her Aunt Gail and Poochie, but that was sad too, because it should really be Jody who she was reading with. But her mother couldn't even make it downstairs most days now, and even when she managed that Herculean task, she just seemed less present than anyone else, like she was preparing them for the day when she would no longer be there at all. Gail had helped Angela read, joking lightly that she should probably bring Ralph over for a playdate with Poochie, sometime. Then Angela got so excited about the prospect that Gail had ended up bringing Ralph over, telling Angela that she could take care of Gail's penguin friend for now, since Gail had to be away so much. So now, Ralph and Poochie were the best of friends, and they were constantly by Angela's side, like some sort of odd couple honour guard. Frank had hugged his sister so tightly that day she felt like he might have cracked one of her ribs, and Jody had given her hand a gentle squeeze and told Gail she loved her, calling her by name. That was a rare occurrence these days, one that Gail had treasured. All the more so because most of the time, Jody had no idea who she and Cas were any more.

So, Gail bore Brian's apparent mistrust of her stoically. Truthfully, although she had told no one this, she felt a sort of antipathy towards the baby. Brian was Sam's son; therefore, she should feel like he was her nephew, shouldn't she? It wasn't very politically correct to dislike a baby, but Gail just felt uneasy whenever she looked at Brian. He just looked at everybody calmly with those dark eyes, as if...As if what? As if he was planning something? How crazy WAS Gail, anyway? Brian wasn't some cartoon baby plotting world domination, like on that TV show Rob and Eric thought was so funny. Just because Gail didn't approve of the way he had come into the world, that didn't mean there was something wrong with the kid. He couldn't help the fact that his mother was a scheming, manipulative little...Never mind. Brian was probably tuning in to those kinds of thoughts she was having, and that was why she seemed to be his least favourite person. Babies were intuitive that way, weren't they, just like dogs or something? Hoo, boy. She'd better not say THAT out loud.

"Here. I'll take the little tyke," Gabriel said magnanimously, even though Sam had asked Cas, not him. Sam looked at him dubiously for a moment, and then he slid Brian gently into Gabriel's arms.

"Don't worry, I'm great with babies. They love me," Gabe assured him. He started rocking Brian slowly back and forth, and the baby began to smile. "See?" Gabriel said, and now, he was smiling, too. But a moment later, his smile faded, and his face screwed up in an expression of disgust. "Oh, no. No, no, no," Gabriel said, extending the baby for Cas to take. "What are you FEEDING that kid? Burritos?" He began waving his arms, looking down at himself to see if there were any stains on his shirt.

Sam was working his jaw, trying not to laugh out loud. He wondered if Brian was too young for a high-five. "Just taking after his Uncle Dean, I guess," he said, grinning. "Here, I'll change him."

"No, you go ahead and get his bottle," Cas said. "I've got this." He looked at Gail. "Would you mind, my love?" She moved over to the little alcove, where Becky had a box of diapers stashed in the cupboard there. In that overabundance of caution that many new parents seemed to have, Becky kept a box of diapers in or near every room that Brian was ever in. But in this case, Gail praised her forethought, because it meant that they wouldn't have to wait too long to get rid of whatever was in the old diaper at the time. She brought a fresh diaper and a dispenser of baby wipes over to the library table, where Cas had already lain Brian down, on top of his swaddling blanket.

Cas looked up at Gabriel, amusement dancing in his eyes. "Unless you would like to do the honours? You know, because you're so good with babies."

"Nooooo," Gabriel said hastily. "It's all yours, Brother."

"Don't worry. We'll get you all fixed up in no time," Cas said to the baby in a gentle voice. He deftly removed the dirty diaper, looking around for somewhere to put it. "Where does Becky keep the diaper pail?" he asked Gail.

She made a face. How the hell should SHE know? Gail had never changed a diaper, never had she ever, and she didn't ever intend to cross that particular smelly item off her list.

Gabriel rolled his eyes. "Here. Allow me," he said dryly. He snapped his fingers, and the dirty diaper disappeared from Cas's hand.

Gail smiled at her Brother. "You need to come around here more often," she told him.

"If that's gonna be the result, no thanks," Gabriel said, gesturing to the area Cas was wiping now. "I like my babies cute, pink, and freshly diapered, if it's all the same to you."

Cas was putting the fresh diaper on Brian now, tickling the baby's tummy. But it was strange; usually when he did that, the infant in question would smile, or wriggle. But Brian just stared. Then he touched Cas's finger with his little fist, and suddenly, Cas was overcome with a wave of emotion. It hadn't been enough, he thought. No matter what he had tried to do, it hadn't been enough. He couldn't save them all. How many deaths were considered an acceptable ratio, in the larger scheme of things? Cas had let them all down. Again. He should just give up, before all was lost.

"Everything OK, Cas?" Sam said, bringing Brian's bottle out from the kitchen.

"What? Oh. Yes. Everything's fine, Sam," Cas replied, dazed.

"Great. Thanks, Cas. I can always count on you," Sam said. He wrapped his son in the blanket and lifted him from the table. "Come on, Brian. Let's get you some lunch," he said softly.

Gail shook her head slowly. It was amazing. Simply amazing. Sam protested whenever Dean put his feet up on the table, stating they sometimes ate there. But Cas had just changed a poopy, smelly diaper on this very same table, and Sam hadn't said a word. Wow. People and their kids.

"Soooo, Cas," Gabriel piped up. "Now that the most dangerous mission is over, do you wanna tell Gail why we really came here?"

Cas's mind was still elsewhere. What had just happened to him? One minute, he had been changing an innocent little baby, and the next? The next, he was being shown all of his past and future failings. The cycle was set to repeat itself now, and, if Cas couldn't figure out how to prevent it soon, they were all doomed. That was what had really been bothering him in Las Vegas. The clouds were gathering fast, now. The process had already begun. Quinn. Chuck. Jody, soon. And then, who would be next? What did his Father WANT from him? Something had to be done...but, what?

But for now, Cas could only do what he could do, and finding Raguel would at least be a start. So he looked at Gail. "We need your blood," he told his wife.

Alice had been watching the woman for a while, and she thought that she was ready to make her move. She had to be extra cautious with this one, because of who and what Detective Bidwell was. Not only did she make her living as a homicide detective in a huge, hot city with a significant murder rate, but she was a psychic, as well. A double threat. This would be a good litmus test for Alice. She had killed four of Vincent's offspring so far, but they had been much easier targets.

However, due to all her research into the world of the occult, Alice also knew that psychic abilities were often a hit-or-miss proposition. Visions seldom came on demand, and even when they did, they were usually jumbled or fragmented, and open for interpretation. Alice couldn't let the special abilities of Vincent's bastards intimidate her. If she did, then what was she even doing, in the first place?

She'd followed Agnes for the better part of three weeks now, and the woman's routine was always the same. Work, home, dinner, bed, work. A couple of times, she'd stopped by a takeout place on her way home, but that was it. She appeared to have nothing that even resembled a social life. Alice had come to the conclusion that Aggie Bidwell was a workaholic. Either that, or she knew her time on this earth was running out, so she wanted to rid the world of as many murderers as she could, before she was gone.

Irony notwithstanding, Alice had wondered briefly if her conscience should be bothering her over what she was doing. Some of Vincent's progeny were decent people, just trying to live their lives. But Alice needed him gone, and so she employed every rationalization in the book to justify what she was doing. Those people were abominations, according to her religious upbringing. Not to put too fine a point on it, but they shouldn't even have come into existence in the first place. Alice was just writing a wrong, and when she was done, a supremely evil being would be eradicated. Alice was on a divine mission. Besides, some of his children were horrible individuals, just as he was. She had killed a telekinetic child of his in Joliet, who'd had all the makings of a serial killer. And there had been that young girl right in Alice's own back yard in Tampa, who'd been so promiscuous she was about two steps away from being a prostitute.

So, Agnes Bidwell had to go. It was too bad, but Alice couldn't let any sort of feelings get in her way. She'd continued to wait and watch, and on the third week, her patience has been rewarded. Aggie had come out of her place and loaded a couple of suitcases into her car, and driven to the beach. She'd parked in front of a beach house, and taken her suitcases inside. Then, a short while afterwards, she had come out the back door, dressed in a bathing suit and carrying a towel. Alice waited, but no one else came out of the house.

A beach house in California? The parade of rationalizations began in Alice's head. Aggie was "on the take", as they said in the movies. She had to be. There was no way she could afford a beach house here, not on a cop's salary.

Actually, Alice was right about that. But, it wasn't Aggie's house. It belonged to her adoptive parents. She used to spend a lot of time here in the summer, when she'd been growing up. Her name had been Judith back then, and her hair had been blonde. Her adoptive dad had been a famous actor, who had appeared in numerous blockbuster movies. At one point, rumours had circulated about a kidnapping ring who were planning to grab the kids of some of the bigger stars and hold them for ransom. So Aggie's dad had changed her name, and her mom had dyed her hair, and they had sent her to a private school that had its own security system, and licensed security personnel. The kidnapping scare had turned out to be much ado about nothing, but Judith had become Agnes Bidwell, a brunette honours student who had admired the men and women at her school whose job it was to protect them. So she had signed up for the Police Academy after graduation, and that had been that.

Her dad mostly directed movies now, and he was on location a lot. He and Aggie's mother were amicably divorced, and they shared the beach house when they were both in town. Aggie still had a key, and her parents encouraged her to use the place any time she wanted to get away from the city and the stresses of her job, for a while.

When Alice saw Agnes come back into the house after having spent a couple of hours on the beach, Eric's mother decided that she had better not wait any longer. The beach house had no close neighbours, and the beach had been relatively deserted. It was still a little too early in the season for all the sun worshippers. Aggie had actually come back to the house because she had been feeling a bit of a chill.

Alice waited just a little bit longer, and then she knocked on the door of the house.

Aggie answered the knock. "Hi," she said in a cautiously friendly tone.

"Hello," Alice said. "I wonder if I could talk to you for a minute. It's about my daughter. She ran away from home, and I think she might have come to this area. She said she wanted to get into the movies, and I'm just afraid that she may have gotten mixed up with the wrong people. Do you mind if I show you a few pictures of her? Maybe you've seen her around."

Oh, man, Aggie thought with a flash of annoyance. She'd come here to unwind, and not think about being a detective for a while. Then she sighed. But this woman looked so worried. Of course Aggie was going to help her, if she could. "Come on in," she said to Alice. "Would you like a glass of iced tea?"

"So, that's it? I haven't seen you in days, and now you come and ask me for some of my blood and tell me you're going to leave again, without me? I don't think so," Gail said to Cas irritably.

"Why should you have to be subjected to those people?" Cas countered in a reasonable tone.

"Shouldn't that be my decision?" she shot back. "Look, Cas, I appreciate what you're trying to do, here. I really do. But I'm a big girl, and I'm going nuts just sitting around here, not contributing anything. I'm getting my blade."

Gail popped out as Cas frowned. He should have known that she would react like that, and he admired her for it. But he felt an overwhelming need to protect her now. The problem was, he couldn't say exactly why. Of course danger was all around them. It always had been. So why especially now?

"I'll be back," Cas said to Gabriel, and then he popped out, too. Gabriel threw his hands up in frustration. Cas was driving him nuts. He looked at Sam, who was still feeding Brian. The kid was drinking warm milk, of course. He was way too young for any kind of solid food, yet. Which made all the more mysterious the fact that he had produced the kind of toxic waste that Gabe had seen and smelled a few minutes ago. Gabriel hadn't really been around much when his own son had been a baby. Not that the murdering little bastard had been one for long.

He bent down to tickle the baby's tummy, like he'd seen Cas do. "Kootchie kootchie koo," Gabriel said to Brian, as Sam looked at him incredulously. Gabriel the Archangel, talking baby talk. And here was Sam, without a witness in sight.

And, just as it had happened with Cas, as soon as Gabriel's finger had touched Baby Brian's little hand, he had his own vision. A young teenage boy, holding Gabriel's blade. Practicing with it, on a mannequin he had stolen from a local department store, from the kids' section. It was up to Joe to kill the Beast, and the Beast was a child, himself.

The blood in Gabriel's vessel ran cold. The Beast was Brian.

"Please don't be angry, Gail," Cas was pleading with his wife.

She had popped over to their house to get her Angel blade from the dresser in the bedroom. There had been no need for her to have it at the bunker. But if Cas and Gabriel were going to see Crowley, track Rowena down, and potentially confront Raguel, she was damn well going with them, and she wasn't going unarmed.

"I'm not angry; I'm just going with you, that's all," Gail told her husband, as calmly as she could. "I don't know why we have to keep on having this same discussion, over and over again. Haven't I proven to you by now that I'm capable? I'm not going to sit at home like some delicate porcelain doll while you guys are out there, putting yourselves on the line. I'm not going to do that, Cas, and frankly, you shouldn't expect me to, by now."

"This is different," he protested.

"How? How is it different?" she asked him, frustrated.

"I don't know. It just is," Cas persisted stubbornly.

"Oh, well, as long as we've cleared that up, then," Gail said, rolling her eyes. "I'm going. End of discussion." She scrutinized her husband's face. "What's going on with you, Cas? And don't say nothing, or I swear..."

"It's not nothing," he said soberly. "I'm afraid."

She looked into his eyes, moving closer to him. He wasn't kidding. She could see it, now. She'd thought that he'd just been in soldier mode. But that wasn't it. Cas was petrified. "Of what?" she asked him softly.

"Everything's going to change, soon," Cas said in response. "Everything. All we hold dear is going to be lost, and I don't know what to do about it, this time."

"What do you mean, 'this time'?" she said, alarmed.

"I always make the wrong decisions," he said vaguely. "I should have killed Arthur, before he had the chance to hurt you. I shouldn't have gone to the New World at all, or if I had, I should have sent you away before dragging you down with me. I should have gone to New York to save you. All those people in Guyana died, anyway. I even made the wrong decision in Germany, when Father told me what I was supposed to do, and I defied Him. That's why we continue to go through these trials. But that's not your fault; it's mine."

Gail knew what he was talking about now, to a certain extent. Cas was referring to the ordeals they'd had at certain points in history. When King Arthur had burned her at the stake. When they'd been put to death for practicing witchcraft, in the New World. And when Cas had tried to rescue the poor unfortunates who had died in the jungle thinking they were following a man of religion, not some murderous psycho megalomaniac. But Gail had died at the end of a knife in New York because she'd wanted to. Because she'd realized that Cas wasn't coming, that he was dead, and that hadn't been his decision, it had been hers. But she knew nothing about Germany. Did that really matter, though?

"Come here, please," Cas said, opening his arms. Gail walked into them. "I couldn't let go of you. I can't," Cas said to her softly. "He shouldn't expect me to."

Before Gail even had the chance to think of something to say to that, he was kissing her, and she responded eagerly. They hadn't seen each other in days. They hadn't been intimate since...actually, she couldn't remember the last time. His tongue was tracing her lips now, and she was remembering when they had first kissed like this, on the blanket in Camelot. When they just couldn't stand it anymore. Now his tongue was trailing down her neck and she was remembering those stolen moments on the ship to the New World. They hadn't been able to wait until they were married, although the people from that era would have disapproved, if they'd been caught.

Now Cas had her on the bed and their clothes were slowly coming off, and she was remembering their times in the current era, in Las Vegas, Paris, Vancouver, and here, just to name a few. Cas's mouth was on her body, and he was kissing and licking her, caressing her, asking what she needed, and her answer was the same as always: Everything. Because if they were going to lose everything shortly, then shouldn't they have everything, now?

They made love quickly the first time, and then more slowly, the second. Cas couldn't stop touching her. It wasn't fair. He wasn't strong enough. How could he be expected to turn his back on the only woman he had ever loved? Cas could compartmentalize a lot of things, but not this. He loved Gail beyond all definition of the word, and she loved him the same. He knew she did. She had given up so much to be with him, and she kept on doing it. Was he just supposed to turn his back on her after all that, and after all this time? He couldn't do it. He shouldn't HAVE to do it. God could expect a lot of things from Castiel, but even He had no right to ask that. The world could burn.

"If you had to choose between the two things that were most valuable to you, how would you do it?" Cas asked her now, softly kissing the knuckles on her hand.

"I wouldn't," Gail said firmly. "Not if one of those things was you. There's nothing else that even comes close. There's no choice to make, Cas. I don't care about any of that other stuff."

He was caressing her hip bone with his thumb now, making that lazy circling motion. She got short of breath from the anticipation alone, when he did that. But that was all he was doing for now, because he hadn't made his point, yet. She could tell. But he'd better not take too long to do it. He was making her crazy.

"Even if I asked you to choose the other?" Cas said, almost pleadingly.

Oh, wow. What the hell? This was serious business, Gail realized now. "Now, why would I go and do something like that?" she said. Her stomach was fluttering, but she started to touch him now, because he was making her wait too long.

"Because I'm not strong enough," Cas replied. His hand moved between her thighs, and his thumb was making those lazy circles again.

"Well, I AM, and you already know what I'm going to say," Gail said, gripping him tighter. "I say forget it. I say I love you. I choose YOU. Each and every time."

Cas kissed her on the mouth, and finally, his thumb was just where she needed it to be. She cried out, and then so did he, and the subject was closed. For better, or for worse.

And at the same moment, Alice took the gun out of her purse and shot Aggie in the back of the head, three times, execution-style. She couldn't afford to give the woman a chance to fight back.

Vincent's daughter fell to the floor, and seconds later, she was dead. Alice checked her carefully, just to make sure. Then she let herself out of the beach house, making sure to wipe the door where she'd touched it. She got in her car and drove away, quietly and calmly. No one saw her.

The Angels had made their choice, and the deaths would continue.


	4. Fade To Black

Chapter 4 - Fade To Black

When Becky awoke, the first thing she did was look for Brian. He was back in his crib, sound asleep, and she breathed a sigh of relief. After Brian had been fed and changed and Sam had held him for a little while to establish some bonding, his little son had drifted off. Cas and Gail were still gone, and after a few minutes' restless waiting, Gabriel had made a couple of tart comments and then told Sam to tell Cas to come and look for him when he felt like he was ready. Then Cas and Gail had come back, and Sam had relayed the message. Cas and Gail had linked hands and popped back out again, and Sam's head was spinning from all the sudden appearances and disappearances. Maybe he would go and have a nap, too. So he had quietly returned Brian to his crib in Becky's room and then continued down the hall to his own.

Becky continued to lay there for a minute, looking at her son sleeping so peacefully. She was still having bad dreams, and sometimes it was hard to distinguish between fantasy and reality. Like when Brian had said Vincent's name. There was no way that could really have happened. Babies that young didn't talk. They just didn't. That couldn't be normal, could it? But then she thought some more about it. Brian had also been moving in her belly when she'd just been newly pregnant, and he'd been big when he came out, even though he was premature. Was it possible that he was just so advanced that he did everything before other kids? Look at how smart Sam was. Did that have something to do with it, maybe?

She slid out of bed and padded across the hall to the washroom. Then she came back and looked down at Brian, but he was sleeping so peacefully that she decided to leave him alone. Bit by bit, she was easing off on the notion that she had to bring him to every room with her. She was here, and Brian was safe. That kind of attachment wasn't healthy. Becky knew that. She read stuff.

In fact, when Becky went out to the library and nobody was there, she thought she would just look it up on Google. So she went to Sam's laptop and typed it in: How old are babies when they say their first words? She scanned the articles. There was some differing information, of course, but the general consensus was that anywhere between nine and twelve months was usually about average. Wow.

Then, on impulse, Becky erased that, and typed in an inquiry about eating live animals. Did people do that? Was that a normal pregnancy craving? And, if so, did anyone ever still feel the urge to do it, once their baby was born?

But then, she thought better of it. That was just too weird. Lord knew what would come up if she did that search. Did she even want to know? Women craved weird stuff all the time when they were pregnant, and if she had the occasional craving now, it was just because she'd been doing it for so long now. For the baby.

Becky cleared the subject matter hurriedly, and then she shut the computer off.

"So, THERE you are. Come on in, you two," Gabriel said, affably enough. He hadn't been in such good humour when he'd first gotten to Liz's, but she had succeeded in making him see things from Gail's point of view. She hadn't seen her husband in days, Liz had said. Why, though, Liz wasn't entirely clear on. Sure, he and Gabriel had been scanning the globe and the planets for Raguel, but Liz had still seen Gabriel at some point nearly every day. So where had Cas been during those same times, if it hadn't been with Gail?

"If you two are done playing Nookie Hooky, we'd better get this thing done," Gabriel said to Cas and Gail. "We don't need Crowley thinking up a dozen ways to screw us over while we're away."

Cas's cell phone rang, and he excused himself to move away and answer it.

"'Nookie Hooky'?" Gail said to Gabriel, and he shrugged. So she looked from him to Liz, and then back again. "And just what have the two of YOU been doing, then?" Gail said, raising an eyebrow. Liz's hair was sticking up on the side of her head. "Reading the Bible?" Gail made the motion to her own head, and Liz smoothed her hair down, smiling.

"Well, I do remember a lot of praise, and more than a few references to the Almighty," Gabriel quipped. Gail's lips twitched as Liz hit Gabriel on the arm. "Oww!" he exclaimed. "That's it; I'm keeping you and Linda apart, from now on. She's been teaching you some bad habits. Every time I open my mouth, she socks me one."

"Has it ever occurred to you that there's a direct correlation?" Liz said dryly, and Gail laughed. "Up top," she said to her friend. Liz looked puzzled for a moment, and then she high-fived Gail's hand.

"Gabriel, I need you to come with me for a moment," Cas said in a serious tone. He was putting his phone back in his pocket. He looked at Gail. "Stay here, please."

She eyed him coolly. "What am I, the family pet? 'Sit'. 'Stay'. I told you, Cas, I'm going with you. You have no choice. You need my blood. And you're not getting it unless it's fresh from the source," she said, gesturing to herself.

His lips tightened. "It's not that. I just need to talk to Gabriel for a moment," Cas said. But she was still looking at him, so Cas said, "We won't leave Heaven. I promise."

"Who was that on the phone?" Gail asked her husband, because it seemed like he wasn't inclined to tell her.

"We'll be back in a couple of minutes," Cas said evasively, grabbing Gabe's arm. Then, the two of them were gone.

Gail let out a frustrated breath. "Well, there goes the most exasperating man in Creation. And the current runner-up," she said irritably.

"What's going on, Gail?" Liz asked her friend. "Why is Cas acting so weird?"

Gail threw her hands up. "THANK you!" she exclaimed. "He has this way of making me feel like it's all in my imagination. But he's been saying the strangest things, lately. Stuff about how it's all going to change, soon. He's freaking me out, Liz. I just thought he was being melodramatic, but now I'm starting to feel it, too."

"Well, lots of things ARE changing," Liz pointed out. "There are some bad things that have happened lately, I know, but there are some positive changes, too. Like Sam and his little baby. Right?"

Gail looked at her friend. She debated with herself for a moment, and then she said, "About that? Don't get mad, but I have to tell you something about that baby. He kind of creeps me out."

"He creeps you out," Liz said sarcastically. "A little, bitty, innocent baby. Well, aren't YOU just an Angelic role model."

"Come on, Liz. You're my best friend. Don't make me regret confiding in you," Gail said, frowning.

"OK, I'm sorry," Liz responded. "So what is it about that tiny little person that's giving Xena the Warrior Princess here the chills?"

"You know, before you and Gabriel started seeing so much of each other, you used to be nice," Gail said tartly.

Liz sighed. "You know what? You're right. I'm sorry, Gail. Have a seat. Tell me what's bothering you."

Gail sat down beside her friend on the couch. "That's just it; I don't really know. There's just something weird about that baby, Liz. I just get a vibe from him. I know how ridiculous that sounds, but I really can't explain it any better than that. And Becky keeps giving me the side-eye, like I'm trying to muscle in on her territory, or something. I've just got to get out of there for a while. Plus, I miss Cas."

Liz was debating with herself now, wondering if she should bring up the fact that Cas seemed to be disappearing and going someplace Gail obviously didn't know about when he wasn't with Gabriel. But then, she decided not to. Liz really didn't know anything about it. If she said something now, Gail would probably get mad at Cas and lay into him when the guys got back, and didn't they all have enough problems right now? Liz knew Cas, so she was sure he had his reasons for not telling Gail where he'd been going. That was between the couple. Liz had better not go sticking her nose in where it didn't belong.

So, instead, she shook her head and said, "'Nooky hooky'. I honestly don't know where Gabriel gets these things from. You're right. He IS exasperating, sometimes. But he makes me laugh, Gail. He makes me happy. I never had that before."

Gail regarded her friend. That was certainly true. They'd had a lot of conversations since Christmas about all kinds of topics, and that subject had definitely come up. As best girlfriends will sometimes do, they had laughed, and cried, and hugged a lot. Gail had asked Liz how serious her relationship with Gabriel really was, and Liz had replied that she and Gabe hadn't had that specific conversation yet, but if she wasn't inclined to kill him in the next few months because he drove her so nuts, it might be sooner, rather than later. They'd had a good giggle about that, but for just an instant, Gail had had a tickle of a premonition that made her believe that might not be so funny, after all. Then they had gone on to talk about other things, but Gail hadn't forgotten how she'd felt at that particular moment. That was why she hadn't questioned Cas more closely, back at their house. With everything negative that had been going on in and around their family lately, Gail realized that she simply didn't want to know.

Cas had told Gabriel that he wanted to go over to Kevin and Emma's office, and see how they were coming along on the translations. Gabe had looked at him curiously. Wasn't this a bit of a weird time to be doing that? "Was that Kevin on the phone?" he asked his Brother.

"No," Cas said tersely.

Gabriel sighed. No wonder his little Kitten got so cranky sometimes. She had to put up with this all the time. But it just so happened that the Archangel had something he wanted to tell Castiel about, so he said, "Walk with me, Cas. I need to ask you something."

Cas looked at him inquiringly, but he started to walk down the hall in the direction of Kevin and Emma's office. His stride was brisk, and Gabe had to hurry to keep up with him.

After a moment, Gabriel said, "There's something going on with that baby, Cas."

He had been expecting to receive an eye roll, or a head shake. A protest. Something. But Cas stopped short, staring at Gabriel. "What do you mean?" he asked sharply.

Gabe sighed again. "Look, Cas, I know he's a Winchester, so that means you're automatically in love with him, but I've gotta tell you what happened. There's something wrong with that kid, Cas. Seriously wrong."

And then something happened that astonished Gabriel so much that he was rendered speechless for a moment. Cas put his hand on Gabriel's shoulder and said, "I know."

The call that Cas had received had been from Frank. He was making the calls now, to put everyone on notice. A short while ago, Jody had told him that she was tired. She had been propped up in bed, and he had been reading to her. Most of the time, it was difficult for her to hold a book, or even a device like a Tablet, so her husband read to her because it was easier on her. But when she'd said that, he had put down the book and moved to the bed to give her a kiss, asking her if she needed anything before he let her rest.

But Jody had told him to sit down on the bed, and then she'd taken his hand. "I'm tired, Frank," she repeated.

"OK, well, go ahead and have a nap," he said. He checked the IV bag for her morphine drip. "You've still got some joy juice, here."

Jody smiled faintly. Her husband, always trying to keep it light. "That's not what I mean," she told him. "I mean, I'm tired. I'm tired of the headaches, and the forgetfulness. I'm tired of trying to pretend like I know what you and those kids are talking about, half the time. You have to let me go, just like we talked about."

Frank's eyes prickled with tears, and his stomach cramped. But he made himself quip, "Oh, sure. THAT, you remember."

Jody gave his hand a squeeze. "I also remember that I love you, even if I don't remember your name, sometimes. It's time to make the calls, Poochie."

She had called Frank by their daughter's stuffed elephant's name, Frank realized. She'd probably been going for "Pookie", which was the nickname she had laughingly bestowed on her husband years ago. Back when they'd thought they would have more time. All Frank could do was nod.

Then he got up, left the bedroom, and went downstairs. Poochie. Frank started to laugh, but it wasn't long until his laughter turned into sobs. But he made himself stop, after a minute. He had some phone calls to make.

It was vital that Cas get to Kevin's office. Now, more than ever. Cas had been studying the ancient writings during those times when Gabriel had been with Liz, applying himself to them with everything he had. There had to be something in there, something of significance. He'd showed up all hours of the day and night, forbidding the young Angels to alert anyone to his presence there. Kevin had asked Cas what he was looking for, offering to help, but the senior Angel had given him a look that discouraged any further inquiry.

And now, Gabriel was telling Cas about the vision he'd had when Baby Brian had touched him. Great. Just great. That was all they needed right now.

"Wait a minute," Gabriel said, open-mouthed. "You KNOW? How long have you known?"

"Not long," Cas told him. "I had my suspicions, but I didn't actually know until I was changing his diaper."

"So what the hell are we supposed to DO about it, Cas?" Gabriel said, agitated. "I have no idea where this kid, Joe, is. But the good news is, it looks like he knows he's the Chosen One. He's been practicing with my blade."

"Well, at least we have time," Cas said, tight-lipped. "Brian is but an infant, yet. As long as he dies before the age of ten, another Apocalypse will be averted. But we have far more pressing issues, right now. If we do not handle Raguel soon, there will be no Earth for the Beast to destroy!" He picked up the pace. This was too much. It was too much, all at once. The Beast was Sam and Becky's son? The Beast was Sam Winchester's son. Out of all of the millions upon millions of children born all over the world, every minute of every hour of every day? Father had been cruel before, but this was almost beyond comprehension. How was Cas supposed to tell Sam that his son had to die?

Frank had called Barry and Tommy, putting them on notice to expect one of the Angels to come and get them very soon. Then he'd hung up, before the crying could begin. He still had the hardest call to make.

Dean's cell phone rang just as the elder Winchester was pulling the Impala into the parking lot of a roadhouse just outside Eugene. Their so-called case had turned out to be simply a police matter, not a monster. So the three of them were going to have a beer or two, a bite to eat, and then head home.

"Send the boys inside, and stay on with me for a sec," Frank said to his friend.

Dean's forehead wrinkled. Then, his heart sank into his stomach. Aw, geez. No. No.

"Order me a double whiskey," he told Rob and Eric as they exited the car. "I'll be there in a second."

The young men proceeded inside without any further questions. They were hungry and thirsty.

Frank explained the situation.

"How long do we have?" Dean asked him grimly. "Or are you gonna send one of the Angels to get us now?"

"How long do you think it would take you to drive back?" Frank countered.

"I dunno," Dean admitted.

"I think you can start back," Frank told him. "I'll call you if anything changes."

"Do you want me to tell them?" Dean asked Gail's brother.

Frank sighed. "I have no clue, Dean. I can't even think, right now. All I can do is put one foot in front of the other. Make one phone call at a time. I'm gonna call Sam, now. Tell you what: it's your call. I don't want to put that on you, though, so if you feel like it, you can tell them you just want to get home. It's your show, Dean. Right now, I can only focus on one phone call at a time, or I'm gonna lose my shit. OK, Buddy?"

"OK, Frank. Leave it with me. I've got you," Dean said soberly. "We'll be home soon." He hung up the phone and went into the bar to talk to Rob and Eric, and his heart was heavy. Hopefully, the drinks were already on the table.

There was a surprise waiting for Cas when he and Gabriel got to Kevin and Emma's office. Laurel was there, and she had an envelope for him. From Chuck.

It was still sealed. Laurel hadn't been able to bring herself to open it. She only told Cas about the fact that Chuck's letter had said she was to deliver the envelope to Cas. The rest of the letter was between her and Chuck.

"How are you, Laurel?" Cas asked her softly. It was obvious that she had been crying. Then, she simply disappeared, leaving Cas to stare miserably at the spot where she'd been standing. He supposed that was his answer. But he couldn't blame her; not one bit. He was sure she'd been wondering what kind of a God would bless her with a devoted husband for only two weeks, and then allow that husband to be slaughtered, for no reason. Castiel had been wondering that, himself. He had been having many of those same kinds of thoughts about his Father, and the news about Brian was just adding fuel to the fire.

"Excuse me," Cas said to the others. He popped out, reappearing in his own office in Heaven a moment later. If Chuck had said the envelope was to be delivered to Cas, not Bobby, he thought he'd better read it in private. He tore it open, scanning the page. What he saw there was so shocking that he had to sit down in the chair behind his desk.

"The End is coming, Cas," Chuck had written. "Without the key, the world lies in ruins. My death is just the beginning. There are monsters already in your midst, and there will be more to come.  
"I saw death, and heartbreak. And, in one case, there's a death that should be allowed to occur. But I couldn't see whose, Cas. I'm sorry. There are some things the Father didn't let me see. I saw the Mark of the Beast. You're going to have to make some hard decisions, ones that will influence the fate of all mankind. Sorry; I guess I should change that to 'humankind', because Gail's going to have to make some, too.  
"Patricia has my Grace, and she means to help Raguel get the Book of Life. They have to be stopped, Cas. But, look who I'm telling: you know that already. It's up to you, Cas. You're the only one who has the courage to make the really hard decisions. God is giving you the metaphorical sword, because He trusts you to use it.  
"I'm really sorry, Cas. I'm sorry for a lot of things. But we all have our atoning to do, and I guess if you're reading this, mine has already begun. Please give Gail my love, and a great big hug from me, too. I will forever be grateful to the both of you for your forgiveness, and for calling me your friend."

Cas lowered the letter, putting it on his desk carefully, as if it were poisonous. And, in a very real way, it was.

The End was coming. Well, no kidding, Cas thought bitterly. They'd known that for a while, as soon as they'd read the phrase that Kevin and Emma had translated from the Texts:

"But only one key opens.  
Fail to heed,  
Everything Dies.  
Earth, Annihilated.  
Destroyed."

But where was this damnable key that Castiel kept hearing about, and how was he supposed to find it?

The part about monsters didn't concern Cas too much. There had always been monsters, and there always would be. And there was always plenty of heartbreak to go around, wasn't there? Chuck had advised that his death was only the beginning, and soon they were going to lose Jody. Frank had just called to prepare Cas, which meant that Cas should be at Liz's, preparing Gail. But there was so much in this missive of Chuck's for him to absorb that he needed a minute.

The fact that the Prophet had talked about Castiel having to make the hard decisions didn't surprise him, either. As a General of Heaven's Army, he'd been doing that for years. Centuries. Chuck seemed to be alluding to a decision to let someone die, something that Castiel had also done, many, many times during the Angel Wars. But reading about that kind of thing in this context made him afraid that the individual who was supposed to die was someone that he would ordinarily want to save. Who was it? And what would happen if he refused to stay his hand, and went ahead to save the person, anyway? What would the consequences be?

But what had shocked Cas to the core was the reference to Gail, having to make those kinds of decisions, too. It had only ever been Castiel, because it had only ever been his punishment. He closed his eyes, silently pleading with his Father not to do this to her. But it was a short prayer, because he was certain that he was wasting his time. And they didn't have much time left.

Patricia. Patricia had Chuck's Grace, and she and Raguel had thrown in together. They had left her in that mental institution to rot, and now they were paying the price for having been so complacent. He'd better alert Bobby about Patricia. Now that she had an Angel's Grace, she could go anywhere. Including here. While Cas and Gabriel were attempting to find Raguel, Bobby could be on the lookout for Patricia.

Okay. OK. There was much to do. It was time to put his personal feelings on the shelf, and pick up that sword. He only hoped that it would truly be a metaphorical one, this time.

Sam was distraught. Frank's call had been bad enough, but then, Dean had called shortly after that, saying he was driving home as fast as he could, with a couple of very upset young men in the car with him. As it turned out, he hadn't had to tell them a damn thing. They had already known, just by the look on his face. It had occurred to Sam to wonder why Eric hadn't just teleported them there instantly, but then he realized: as far as he could recall, the young man hadn't really teleported anywhere, for quite some time. Maybe he couldn't really do it anymore? Or, maybe he simply chose not to. But now was not the time to bring up the question.

Brian was still napping and Becky was in the kitchen, making her and Sam something to eat. Not that he had much of an appetite. But it gave her something to do. The trouble was, Sam had nothing to do at the moment but feel anguish over Jody. He could relate to how Gail had been feeling. It was absolute hell, just sitting around idle.

Thinking about Gail led Sam to think about the fact that they had discovered Agnes Bidwell on the list of Vincent's offspring. THAT was something he could do. So he looked around for her business card, but he couldn't find it. Where the hell had he put the thing? He was usually a lot more organized than that. He checked his phone, but her number wasn't in the Contacts. He sat down at the computer. She wasn't in there, either. He had probably just flipped the card somewhere once they'd gotten home, intending to enter her info when he had time. Even if they might never need to call the person again, Sam kept a file on police contacts that they had made in various cities, because you never knew. But she wasn't there. Dammit.

He checked for her name online, and got a shocking result. Detective Agnes Bidwell had just been found shot to death in her famous father's beach house.

Holy crap. Sam scanned the news item. There wasn't much information. Apparently, Aggie's mother had discovered her adopted daughter laying across the coffee table in the living room, shot dead. How horrible for the poor woman. And how horrible for Aggie. Sam had liked her.

Another one of Gail's siblings, dead. And Jody, about to be. Chuck, murdered by Raguel, and poor Quinn, whose murder remained unsolved. Sam sat back in his chair, his guts churning. What the hell was going on, all of a sudden?

"Hello, sweetheart," Crowley said to Gail once she, Cas and Gabriel met him at the appointed spot. "Or should I not call you that any more, now that we know about our true relationship?"

"I don't care," she said, rolling her eyes. "I've got other things to think about. Let's just get this done."

"That's amazing," Crowley said sardonically. "I didn't know that Castiel had taken up ventriloquism."

"All right, look," Gabriel said sharply. "I know: King of Hell, evil bastard, yada, yada, yada. But, can you just stow it for now? Jody's getting worse. It could be any time now. So just leave it, OK?"

For a wonder, Crowley nodded briefly in acknowledgement. He snapped his fingers, and a brass vessel appeared on the ground in front of them. "I've taken the liberty of assembling all the other required ingredients," he told them. "All that remains is..." He took out the letter opener that had been laying on his desk. He'd seen Castiel's eyes narrow as he reached into his pocket. The mood these three were in, he'd best leave the Angel blade in his other pocket. Not that he could blame them. The King had meant what he'd said about Jody. As members of the God Squad went, he had respected her more than most.

Crowley pricked his finger with the letter opener. "Five drops ought to do it," he said calmly. He bled into the vessel, then spun the letter opener in his hand to pass it to Gail, handle first.

Cas grabbed it before she had the chance to take it. He went into his pocket for the cloth he'd taken from the weapons room in Heaven before they'd come here. It was consecrated material, capable of cleansing any fluid it was used on, both literally, and spiritually. He wiped Crowley's blood from the letter opener with the cloth, leaving it pristine.

"Really, Castiel?" Crowley said, his lips tightening.

Cas looked at him coldly. "If you think that I would let my wife draw blood with a weapon of your choice, with your blood still on it - "

Crowley was furious now. "I am not some disease-ridden, bottom-feeding Demon," he said through gritted teeth. "I am the King of Hell, and there was a time when your wife and I - "

"Geez, Louise," Gabriel said nervously, looking from one man to the other. "Who do you guys think you are, Cain and Abel, or something? What? Too soon?" He stepped in front of Cas, whose eyes were blazing a bright blue now. It would be a bad idea to let Crowley even think about finishing that sentence. Gabe liked juicy gossip as much as the next guy, but he wasn't that eager to start Apocalypse, Now, The Sequel, ahead of schedule. But he made a mental note to ask Gail about that later, when Cas wasn't in the room. Gabriel had been locked away in Nevada for the first few reels of this movie, so he had no idea what Crowley might have been referring to. There was a time when he and Gail...what? Went to the SuperBowl? Got mani-pedis? Took a night class together? Hoo, boy. Then again, the way Castiel was looking right now, Gabe was reconsidering. Maybe he didn't want to know, after all. His tolerance level for extreme nausea had just about been reached for today.

Fortunately, the tension eased a bit when Cas looked into his wife's eyes and she nodded, extending her hand to him. He paused for a beat, and then pricked her finger with the letter opener. As she held her hand over the vessel, adding her blood to the mix, Cas wiped the letter opener again. This time, there was a gold shimmer for a moment, when the cloth made contact with Gail's blood. Gabriel was mesmerized by that. Under other circumstances, he would have rejoiced at the sight. If anyone was aware of its significance, it was Gabriel the Archangel.

But he had better stay on his toes now, because Cas was looking at Crowley with that distasteful expression again. "I don't want you getting one drop of Gail's blood, either. You're not fit to touch even that."

"Do you really want to do this right now, Castiel?" Crowley said, his eyes and expression darkening. "Because if you do, that's fine with me. A little pretty golden glitter notwithstanding, your wife is hardly a Saint. Nor are you, nor is your debauched Archangel sidekick, here. Our Father is well aware of that fact. That's why everything around you will fall, Cas. Everything, and everyone. THAT'S why I haven't taken my revenge on you for that little foray into my Kingdom. I don't need to. Father is doing it for me. Maybe you should take that little rag of yours and try to wipe away your sins with it. See if that works."

Gail was struck now by the worst sense of dread she'd ever felt. "Why does everybody here seem to know what's going on besides me?" she said, trembling with fear and anger. "What am I missing? What's happening here?"

"Don't you worry your little head about it," Crowley said to her, his eyes glistening with amusement. They hadn't told her. Typical. "You're better off not knowing. Believe me. Well, if your husband is done being sanctimonious, we'll start the spell. Once I light it ablaze, there's a phrase that you and I have to say together." He looked at Cas. "If that's allowed, of course," the King added acidly.

Cas put the consecrated cloth back in his pocket. Then he moved forward to hand the letter opener back to Crowley. But suddenly, his grip on it tightened, and he drove it into the King of Hell's chest, as hard as he could.

"Oops. My grip must have slipped," Cas said, smiling grimly.

Crowley grabbed the handle of the letter opener, pulling it slowly out of himself. His and Castiel's eyes were locked together, each focused on the other. How far was too far? Crowley's other hand began to raise, and Gabriel's mouth opened: "We'll be right back," he said to Crowley hastily. "Teach her the spell." Then he seized Cas, and winked him away.

"What are you doing? Are you nuts?" Gabriel berated his Brother. "Are you deliberately trying to - " He bit off the sentence, peering closely at Cas's face. "Ohhhh. Wait a minute. I'm starting to get it. You think that if you throw down with him now, Dad's just going to cut to the chase and remove that yoke of responsibility from around your shoulders, is that it? Well, let me tell you something, Brother. As a guy who's spent eternity running away from responsibility and commitment, believe me when I say, it don't work like that. Just when you think you're out, they pull you back in. That's one pop culture reference I sure do understand. Look at me, standing right here, about to march into battle with you. Again."

"He has committed so many unforgivable - " Cas started to say, but Gabriel interrupted him. "This isn't about Crowley; it's about you. Of course he's a Grade A, Class One A-face. I'm not disputing that. What I'm talking about now is you, and those Prophecies you're carrying around." Cas looked started, and Gabriel shook his head slowly. "Please. I've been around since Eve had you in diapers, Brother. But it doesn't take an Archangel to know that when you get a letter from a dead Prophet, it's gonna have Prophecies in it. And you've been scared green for weeks now, even before that. So, give."

"We should get back," Cas said as a reply. "Gail shouldn't be alone with him."

"OK, we're gonna have to set aside a few hours real soon, so you and my little Kitten can fill me in on the first few chapters of this book," Gabe said sardonically. "But in the meantime, in case you haven't noticed, she can handle herself. You're stalling, Cas."

Castiel sighed heavily. Then he reached into his pocket and handed Gabriel the letter.

The Archangel read it quickly. "Wow," he remarked. "You must have really pissed Dad off, this time." He laughed shortly, without humour. "'The metaphorical sword', huh?"

"Yes. And when have you ever known it to be metaphorical?" Cas said bitterly.

And Gabriel had no answer for that, because his Brother was absolutely right. Fires, floods, plague. Pillars of salt. When their Father brought the hammer down, He didn't mess around. He sighed. "I'll help you however I can, Castiel. I won't leave you, this time. I promise. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I've grown to love this crazy little family that you have, too. That WE have," he amended. Then the Trickster decided that Gabriel had been too serious for too long, so he raised an eyebrow and waggled it. "Besides, I've gotta stick around, until I can convince Gail that she settled."

Cas pulled Gabriel to him for a hug, but he couldn't speak at the moment. If Gabriel only knew what his loyalty and support meant to Cas...

Gabe returned the embrace for a few seconds, patting Cas on the back. "OK, there, Big Guy," he said, sounding eerily like Dean. "We'd better get going, before somebody gets badly hurt, back there. Oh, and Crowley might try to harm Gail too, once he picks himself up from the ground." He grinned and clapped Cas on the back, winking them both away.

Crowley had told Gail what the phrase was that they were supposed to say, and she had repeated it a few times, just to make sure that she had the pronunciation correct. Now they were just biding their time, waiting for the men to get back.

"What's up your husband's arse?" Crowley said with a frown. "He's being even more insufferable than usual." He pointed to his chest. "That hurt, you know." The wound was healed, the blood was gone, and the King had tucked the letter opener away, but he was still angry. What made Castiel think he could continue to get away with that sort of thing? Whatever their Father was cooking up for Cas this time around had better be good, because Crowley was about two steps away from carving out his brother's heart and feeding it to the hellhounds for kibble. Consequences be damned.

"We've been going through some stuff," Gail said in response. "Quinn and Chuck were murdered, and this thing with Jody...Well, let's just say that our nerves are pretty frayed, right now."

"But, at least there's a bright side," Crowley said casually. "A new little Winchester has been brought forward unto the Earth. Moose must be ecstatic. Even if the mother is a moronic, scheming little trollop. Right, sweetheart? You know, I don't care if you ARE my sister, I intend to keep on calling you that. Once I find a nickname I like, I don't like to switch. Don't be concerned if it sounds a little incestuous. I'll be going straight to Hell after this, anyway."

Gail stared at him. "Are you honestly trying to stand there and make jokes, right now? My sister-in-law is dying, and you're an evil ass. Frank's my brother, not you. Don't you ever make the mistake of thinking that you and I have any kind of bond. You stood there taunting Cas, and then you acted surprised to find a letter opener stuck in your chest. You're lucky that's ALL you got."

Crowley reached into his pocket and took out his Angel blade, twirling it around idly in his hand. "If any one of you wants to attempt something like that again, I would invite you to try," he said coolly. "In fact, why don't you and I have a go, right now?"

"What is WRONG with you guys, all of a sudden?!" Gail said angrily. "Suddenly, I'm living in a world where Gabriel is the Voice of Reason? Believe me, that's far scarier to me than you'll ever be."

Crowley barked out a laugh. Bollocks. She'd done it to him again. He put the blade away. "How is it that you're not afraid of me?" the King asked the Angel curiously.

She shrugged. "Maybe it's because I really don't think you want me to be dead. No suffering that way, right? Same as our Father. He doesn't want to make it quick and painless, does he? Oh, no. Not while there's pain and anguish to be had."

Crowley was puzzled. "Are you talking about Vincent? Why? What's he done?"

But Gail shook her head. "No. I'm talking about God."

But before Crowley had the chance to even think about how to respond to that, Castiel and Gabriel returned, and it was time to invoke the spell.

Sam hit the browser history on Google absently, still musing about the shocking news. Maybe he should look at that item about Agnes Bidwell again. See if there was anything about her murder that looked strange. Well, stranger than usual, of course. Any gris-gris bags, or elements of voodoo. Dammit. They should almost haul out the FBI suits, and go on a road trip. Maybe, if he saw any signs that there had been any occult activity at the beach house, they could get Cas and Gail to take them. Dean and the boys would be back in the morning. How much time did they have? The pain hit him in the gut. What he was really asking himself was: how much time did JODY have?

Sam hadn't bothered to lock his laptop. He only did that when they were on the road. He supposed he would have to do that routinely, when Brian got to be older. Probably sooner, rather than later. These days, it seemed as if kids came out of the womb with intermediate computer skills. Sam felt a thrill as he allowed himself to picture Brian as a young boy, using his Dad's laptop to do research. Wouldn't that be something special. He really hoped his boy would be interested in academia. Not that there was anything wrong with emulating Uncle Dean, of course. Maybe they could have the best of both worlds: maybe Brian would be a Mensa candidate, who loved to tinker with and repair classic cars in his spare time. He would be tall, handsome and muscular, with a ready smile and a deep, abiding love for his family. He would have everyone's best qualities. He would have Sam's quick mind, Dean's courage and surprisingly sensitive heart, Cas's love and fierce protectiveness for his family, and Gail's spunk, sass, and sense of humour. Brian would have Bobby's honesty and common sense, and Becky's...what?

Right. Sam had been thinking about his son this whole time as if Brian was just that: HIS son. But he was half Becky's, too. Sam knew next to nothing about the family she'd had in her previous life. So to speak. And, quite frankly, he knew next to nothing about Becky herself, and he wasn't sure that he really wanted to. Sam could see the way she looked at him sometimes, especially when she was holding their son. Like she was expecting him to suggest that they get a cute little ranch house together, with a back yard and a white picket fence. He knew he had to disabuse her of that notion before too much longer. But right now, he was just so in love with the idea of having a son to dote on, and care for. And the situation with Jody was hanging over everyone like a heavy black shroud, too.

Sam came out of his reverie for long enough to focus on what he was seeing on the browser search. The first item that stood out was an inquiry about how old babies generally were when they uttered their first words. Sam smiled warmly. Obviously, Becky had been doing some research, herself. That was kind of sweet.

But then his eyes shifted down, and his heart skipped a beat. Becky had deleted it, but she hadn't cleared the history, because she obviously hadn't known it would still appear here. It was an inquiry about eating live animals.

What the hell?

"Why could you not just leave me alone?" Rowena railed at the group. "I have been as quiet as a little church mouse. Have you lured me here to kill me?"

"No," Cas said briskly. Even though we should, he thought, but did not say. "We need your assistance with something."

Rowena stared at them open-mouthed, and then she laughed derisively. "Now, why on earth would I be inclined to help any of you? My son, who I loathe? Who wished me dead? My daughter, who betrayed me in New Orleans, setting me up for capture? Or you, Castiel? Gail has you wrapped so far around her little finger that you are no better than a hired assassin. And, you?" She looked at Gabriel. "Another Archangel? That's all I need. I'm sorry, but the day I do any favours for any of you will be the day that I sprout gossamer wings."

She tried to vanish out of there, but of course, Rowena was trapped by the spell. As long as the ingredients in the vessel burned, she could not leave.

"I would not need my wife's request to kill you," Cas said, tight-lipped. "In fact, with all of the things you have done to us and our family, you should consider it to be the greatest of mercies that I have not."

Gabriel cleared his throat, looking at Rowena. "Excuse me, hi, hello. Gabriel the Archangel, here. First off, I'd like to say that I love that whole look you've got going on, there. Flaming red hair, long, thick eyelashes, classic gown...gorgeous. And you're just a little bitty thing, aren't you? Now I see why Gail's so tiny. Anyway, look, Ro: you and I have just met, so let me assure you, I am nothing like Raguel. Nothing. Actually, that's why we're here. We were hoping you could do us a solid by taking that cloaking spell off of him. I can understand your confusion, though. My Brother here isn't very experienced at asking for favours. That's why you don't hear the words 'please', 'thank you', or 'favour' coming out of his mouth."

Rowena was disarmed. Now, this one, she liked. "Well, why didn't you say so?" she asked him, smiling. "I would be glad to remove the cloaking spell from Raguel. He disappointed me. Full of big words and big plans, he was, just like a lot of men. But when it came time to act...poof. Nothing." She looked at Gabriel from underneath those long lashes. "I presume you've never had that problem?"

"No, of course not," Gabriel said flirtatiously.

Gail elbowed him, hard. "Oww!" Gabe exclaimed, rubbing the area where she'd gotten him. "Why do you ladies always insist on hitting me?"

"Why? Do you enjoy that sort of thing?" Rowena said to Gabriel with a raised eyebrow.

Gail let out a frustrated breath. "I don't have time for this," she said angrily. "I didn't betray you in New Orleans. HE betrayed us both," she said to Rowena, pointing at Crowley. "But, my husband raises a good point. You HAVE done a lot of rotten things to us in the past. And, just so you know, Gabriel is taken. Look, the bottom line is, we need to find Raguel. It sounds like you don't care if we do. So, are you going to help us, or not?" She glanced at Gabriel. "Please," she added.

Everyone was silent for a moment. Then Rowena said, "All right. I have a couple of conditions, but: yes, I will help you."

Sam walked down the hall to the kitchen. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" he asked Becky.

She turned around from the stove, where she was stirring a pot of cheese sauce for the steamed broccoli. "I know, I know. It's not healthy," she said affably. "But I had a craving for some cheese. You don't have to have any."

He was looking at her steadily, and Becky was starting to feel uneasy. "What is it, Sam?"

"Why are you looking up eating live animals on Google?" Sam asked her.

As Becky was trying to think of a reasonably sane answer to that question, Sam's cell phone rang. A minute later, the subject was forgotten.

Dean pulled over to the side of the road to answer his phone. "Grab your bags, guys," he said to Rob and Eric. "Get mine, too. Bobby'll be here in a minute."

Rowena performed the uncloaking spell, and Crowley snapped his fingers, dousing the flames which had been holding her bound after Gabriel reported that he had located Raguel. The Archangel was in Utah.

Cas looked at Rowena. "You are free to go," he said stiffly. Then he glanced at Gail. "And, thank you."

Rowena's face relaxed. "Before I take my leave, I just wanted to point something out. I have left all of you be. While I admit that I have done some regrettable things in the past, so have you all. When you confront Raguel, don't hesitate. He will destroy everything." She stared at Gail for another moment, as if she was considering what else to say. Then, she simply vanished.

And that was when Cas's cell phone rang.

Bobby had asked Liz to go to Frank's house, and he had popped over there with Angela a minute later. The little girl didn't often travel the Angel way, but unlike many other humans, it didn't seem to faze her all that much. Her Grandpa God put her down on the living room floor, and Angela ran over to Liz, carrying Poochie in one arm and Ralph in the other, as usual.

"Hi, Auntie Liz!" Angela said happily. "We had a great time in the park! Poochie and Ralph went down the slide, and Poochie played with me in the sandbox. But Ralph said HE likes snow, instead. So Grandpa sat with him on the bench, while me and Poochie were building him an igloo. Poochie said he'd like that." She paused. "But then, Grandpa's phone rang, and he said we had to come home."

Liz looked at Bobby with pleading eyes, but he gave her a quick shake of his head. Her heart sank into her stomach. "Let's go to your room and pick out a really good book to read," Liz said to Angela, smiling down at the little girl. "Then, we'll get the dustbuster and see if we can get rid of some of that sand. Okay?"

"OK," Angela said brightly. "Poochie says that tickles, but Grandpa says he has to be clean, for when we go see Mom in a minute."

Liz's stomach clenched, but she continued to smile. "OK, let's go, then," she said to Angela, shooing her out of the room.

"I'll be there in a coupla minutes," Bobby called after them.

Then everyone started to appear. Paul brought Sam, Ethan and Karen brought Dean, Rob, and Eric, and then Cas, Gail and Gabriel popped in. A minute later, Kevin showed up with Barry and Tommy.

"OK, that's everybody," Bobby said briskly. He turned to Dean. "Where'd you park?" Dean told him, and Bobby nodded. "Got it. I'll get down there, zap the car back to the bunker, then be right back. Cas, can you go upstairs and see Frank? Do whatever he asks. Everybody else, stay put."

He had spoken sternly on purpose, but everyone was too upset to do anything but obey. Bobby popped out, and Cas hurried upstairs. The rest of them looked at each other, wide-eyed. Then Gail and Rob started to cry silently, and then they all moved together, comforting one another.

"Hey, Cas," Frank said, looking up from Jody's bedside. "Is everybody here?"

"Yes, Frank," Cas said softly.

"Can you do me a favour?" Jody said to her brother-in-law. "Can you give me a lift down to the living room?" She stretched out her arms as Cas moved forward. Frank had already taken the IV out, when Jody had told him that she wanted to do this downstairs. He picked her up as gently as he could, shocked by how light she was. "Put your arms around my neck," he instructed her. "And, Frank, if you take Jody's hand, we'll all go together." Frank did, and Cas winked them to the living room instantly. He placed Jody on the loveseat, so that Frank could sit beside her.

Gail grabbed a blanket from the couch and brought it over, offering it to her sister-in-law. "No, thanks; I'm good," Jody said, smiling faintly. She looked around the room. "Wow. Looks like the makings of one hell of a party."

Bobby returned. He asked Paul, Ethan, Karen and Kevin to go back to Heaven, and Gabriel to go to Angela's room to keep Liz and Angela company until Bobby was ready to come for the little girl. The Angels all popped out without comment, even Gabriel. This was no time for a debate. The remaining people were who Jody had wanted to be there when she was ready to say goodbye.

"As you all know, I'm not long on melodrama," Jody said to her family. "I wanted to talk to you when I was still able to call all of you by name. I'm gonna make a quick speech, and then I want a hug and a kiss from everybody, before I go back upstairs." Jody sighed. "I just wanted to say that I know this sucks, and I know everybody's going to be really sad. I'm not going to tell you not to be. Truthfully, I'd be pissed off if you didn't mourn me, at least a little bit. But, promise me you won't stop enjoying life." She looked at Rob. "If anything, I want you to enjoy it more."

Rob sniffled, and Jody went on, "I'm going to elicit some more promises from you all. Dying people are allowed to do that. In the last few months, I've done a lot of thinking, when my brain was working the way it should. And I came to the realization that love and family are the most important things we have. Not exactly earth-shattering, is it, Sam? I remember all those nights we used to sit around, drinking coffee, talking about philosophy. I guess I'm being given a bit of a last hurrah, right now. But yesterday, Frank was showing me pictures of all of you, and I had no idea who any of you were. Including HIM. That's when I knew that I was done. I can take a lot of things, but I can't handle that. Hey, Dean, remember when Sam was sick with the flu, and you and I went to Montana to hunt for rougarou? Remember how I broke my leg in three places when we fell down that embankment?"

"Yeah," Dean said stoically, although his eyes were glistening with tears. "Then I got up and dusted myself off, without a scratch. You taught me a couple of new curse words that day."

"Yeah, well...that busted leg hurt a thousand times less than my not being able to remember any of you, or what you've all meant to me. I refuse to go out that way," Jody said firmly. She looked around at everyone. "Promise me you'll all stay together, even if it has to be in different locations. And no, I'm not being nonsensical, Tommy. I see that look on your face. Keep at it. One day, you're going to be on the Best-Seller list. 'Write what you know'. It's the oldest cliche in the book. Am I right?"

Tommy nodded. He was trying to hold back the tears too, so he didn't trust himself to speak.

"Well, I'm going to disagree," Jody went on. "Even though I know nothing about the subject, my advice is to write what you LOVE. Not what you think will sell, or what you think other people will want to read, but what YOU want to write."

She paused again. "Always, always look out after each other. Little tiffs and petty squabbles don't mean anything, in the end. Who cares if your brother leaves his socks on the floor, or forgets to plug in your phone? Yes, Eric, I'm talking to you. And, Rob? Pick your smelly socks up off the floor, and plug in the damn phone."

The boys exchanged looks, favouring their mom with faint smiles. It was so hard to smile right now, but they knew it would make her happy, so they tried their best to put on brave faces.

"You all need each other," Jody remarked. "Cas, I know you worry all the time, about everything, and everyone. I also know you sometimes feel torn between Heaven and Earth. I'll tell you the same thing I told Tommy: do what your heart tells you to do. We're your family, too."

Then she looked at Gail. "I'm leaving you in charge of kicking your brother in the pants, whenever you feel like he needs it. Maybe you'd better ask Cas for a bigger shoe budget," Jody quipped, and Gail gave a half-laugh, half-sob. She couldn't stop crying. Jody beckoned to her, and Gail came forward. Jody took her by the hand and said, "Sit here beside me, for a second."

Gail sat down gingerly beside her sister-in-law. Jody was so thin now that Gail almost felt like she would hurt her if she sat too close.

Jody put her arm around Gail. "I never had a sister," Frank's wife said, "so when Frank and I got married, I didn't know how to BE around you. I'd been in a man's world for so long that I didn't know how to bond with another woman. But you grew on me, kiddo. You and your brother are so much alike. Don't ever change, Gail. You're one of the strongest women I know, even when you're being a whiny crybaby." Gail half-laughed, half-sobbed again. "I love you, Gail. And you, Cas. And you, Sam. And you, Dean. Barry. Tommy. See, I remembered all your names."

Jody looked up at Bobby. "I'll miss you, Bobby Singer. I don't have enough time to list all the ways. You've been a wonderful friend to me, and to our whole family. And, one helluva God. No offense, Cas. I'm putting you in charge of my wake, Bobby. I want lots of booze, and lots of funny stories. No holds barred."

"You've got it, Jodes," Bobby said gruffly, and she smiled. "I don't think you've ever called me that before," Jody remarked. "That's because I figured you'd probably kick my ass, if I did," Bobby responded, and this time, his tone was surprisingly tender.

"A little help, here," Jody said, motioning to Frank and Gail. They took one of her arms each and helped her to her feet. She felt lightheaded just from that motion alone. Yes, it was definitely time. To try to hang on now would just be ridiculous. Selfish. Look at all of their faces.

"I have one more thing to say," Jody told everyone. "Due to the nature of our group, we've all talked about where I'll be going, afterwards. None of us really knows, not even Bobby. But, who knows? Maybe there is a better place than here, for all of us. Maybe this life is so fleeting because it's only meant to serve as a lesson for the next one, in Heaven, or wherever we wind up. Maybe the reincarnation guys have had it right, all along. Maybe we've all been here before, and will be, again."

Cas looked at Jody, startled. And then she startled him even more by saying, "And, maybe our flaws are exactly what's perfect about us." Now, tears were streaming down Cas's face too, just like everyone else in the room. He felt like she was speaking to him personally.

"I'll take my hugs and kisses now, you guys," Jody said. "Then I'll have Bobby take me back upstairs, so I can have a few private moments with Frank and our kids."

So everyone else had hugged and kissed Jody, and now she was back in bed, with Frank, Eric, Rob and Angela at her bedside. Frank had offered to put the IV back in, but Jody shook her head. She wanted to be clear-headed, and there was no point now, anyway.

As Bobby stood by the door as stoically as he could, Jody said, "Come here, Angela." The little girl approached the bed, carrying Poochie and Ralph with her, as always. She was looking up at her mother with wide eyes.

"I want her on my lap, Frank," Jody said to her husband. "Please."

So he lifted Angela onto Jody's lap on the bed, and Jody put her arms around her daughter. "I heard you guys had a nice time in the park today," Jody said softly.

"Yeah," Angela said, nodding. "But next time, I think we'll stay out of the sandbox. Maybe we could find someplace that Ralph would like, too. Auntie Gail said that's called 'inclusion'."

Jody laughed, but she was crying a little now, too. This was one of the worst parts, right here. She would never get to see what kind of woman Angela was going to turn out to be. Maybe she would be an athlete, or a teacher, or a scientist. A role model for all the little girls who would come after her. Maybe Angela would be a great leader. The President, even. The future was hers. At least Jody had the comfort of knowing that she was leaving her girl in the best possible hands.

"I have to go, now," she told Angela, giving her a gentle squeeze.

"Are you sure, Mommy?" Angela said in a trembling voice, and Frank had to avert his head for a moment to compose himself.

"Yes, I'm sure," Jody said, kissing her daughter on the forehead. "I'll miss you, so much. But you've got your Dad, and your brothers, and all the other people in our family who love you. And Poochie and Ralph, too. That's a lot of love, Angela."

"And that's the most important thing," Angela stated solemnly. She and her mom had talked about this before, when Jody had been preparing her little daughter. "I'll remember," Angela added. She let go of her stuffed animals, putting her arms around Jody's neck and kissing her mother's face. "I love you, Mommy. I'll miss you, too."

Jody kissed Angela a couple more times, and then she said, "Grandpa's going to take you back downstairs, now. I love you, Angela."

"I know. I'll remember," Angela said again. Bobby came forward as Angela gathered Poochie and Ralph up in her arms again. He bent down and kissed Jody on the cheek, and then he took Angela's hand and popped her out of the bedroom.

"Come here, please," Jody said to Eric and Rob. The young men approached the bed. She reached out her arms, and each of the brothers hugged and kissed her. "I'm going to give you one last lecture," Jody told them, smiling weakly. "If you want to Hunt, that's your decision. Your father and I have nothing to say about it. You're men, now. I'm proud of both of you for having the strength of your convictions, and for wanting to help people. But, promise me something: Don't be Sam and Dean. They're good men, and I love them to pieces. But they've put so much of themselves into Hunting that there's hardly anything left for anything else. I want you guys to fall in love and get married, and have kids too, if you want. Lots and lots of kids. Wouldn't your Dad make the greatest Grandpa ever? And that's saying a lot, considering the Grandpa you have right now."

"I want to thank you, Jody. I mean, Mom," Eric hastily amended. At some point, he had taken to calling Jody and Frank "Mom and Dad", and neither one of them had minded that, not one bit. Eric continued, "Thank you for welcoming me into your house, and into the family. I loved my adoptive parents for taking me in, but I love you so much more for actually giving me a home." He bent down to kiss her again, and then he left the room quickly, without looking back. Rob glanced at his brother's retreating form. He was pretty sure he knew why Eric had left so abruptly. Eric could never stand to cry in front of others.

"Rob," Jody said, extending her hand to her son again. "My Robbie. I'm going to miss you like crazy. I'm very proud of you for growing up to be the fine young man that you are. There were so many opportunities that you were denied, due to our circumstances. Your Dad and I tried to do our best by you, but I know we failed you, sometimes. If I could go back and do it all over again - "

"No, Mom," Rob said softly. He sat down on the bed next to her, still holding her hand. "I wouldn't change a thing. You and Dad gave me everything. I was the luckiest kid in the world, having all of you to love, and to love me. It's gonna be hard for me to find a woman to love who's even close to being as great as you are, but I promise you, I'll try. I want what you and Dad have, and I want those kids. We're going to make sure they know all about you, and how terrific you are." He started to cry. "I'm sorry, Mom, I was going to try not to do this..."

"It's OK, Rob," she said with a thin smile. "I'm glad you express your feelings. It's not good to bottle them up, all the time. A man who can open up is very attractive to a woman." Her eyes flickered to Frank, and he smiled tremulously.

It was time for the last goodbye. Jody took a deep breath. She reached out and brought Rob's face to her own, kissing him. He gave another choked sob. Then he stood up, still holding her hand. He lingered, giving it one more gentle squeeze. Then he left the room, and his shoulders were shaking.

Frank took Rob's place on the bed, looking down at his wife. Neither of them spoke for a couple of minutes. What could they possibly say?

"For the first time ever, I kind of wish I could talk like Cas," Frank said to Jody. "I wish I could recite a love poem to you. It's what you deserve."

Jody reached up and touched his face. "Our whole life together has been a love poem, Frank. The minute I met you, there was just something about you." A big, macho guy who told the world's worst jokes, Jody thought now. A soft-hearted man, who loved weapons and classic cars. Through no fault of his own, Frank had been made into a Knight of Hell by Crowley, and then he had been resurrected by Cas and brought into the family fold. Sam and Dean had seemed to trust Frank, and that had been good enough for Jody. They'd had their big battle with Crowley's Demons at the bunker, gotten Cas and Gail back from their abduction, and then Jody had returned to her post in Sioux Falls. But she hadn't been able to get Frank out of her mind, and he had clearly felt the same way. They'd started to correspond by computer and talk on the phone, and then they'd started to find excuses to be together. Frank had been very distraught about Gail and Cas's separation. None of them could understand why the Angels had suddenly split up, when they were obviously so much in love. It made no sense. Neither one of them was talking about it, but it was apparent that they'd both been miserable without the other. Frank had been completely bewildered, but Jody had provided him with an understanding shoulder to lean on, and after a while, they had ended up sharing a lot more than a few drinks and some conversation.

Then, when they'd agreed that they were doing more than just fooling around, the two of them had started being casually affectionate with each other around their friends, and no one had seemed surprised.

Then had come poor Felicia's murder at Rob's adoptive father's hands, and that had accelerated things. But Frank and Jody had agreed that they had been destined to wind up together, anyway. That tragic event had actually done them a favour, Frank had said to his wife later, because it had made them get off the pot, and get together quicker.

"I can't do this, Babe," Frank said now. "I can't do it without you."

"Sure you can," she replied. "You've been doing it for months, now."

But that wasn't what Frank meant, and they both knew it. "I feel like I should apologize, or something," Jody said, trying to go for a bit of humour. Laughter had always been the cornerstone of their home. No matter what tragedies had befallen them, and there had been a lot, they had always tried to see the lighter side of things. When things were at their darkest, a little light went a long way. "I owe you about six months' worth of housework," Jody went on. "Maybe, if there's anything to that reincarnation idea, I can come back as a vacuum cleaner. Then you can tell me I suck, and there won't be a damn thing I can do about it."

As jokes went, it definitely hadn't been one of their best. But Frank laughed anyway, and he blessed his wife for it. He leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips.

"It's been terrific, Babe," he told her. "Every minute of it. Wherever you end up, save me my spot. I'll make sure the kids are OK, play with those grandchildren I'm gonna badger them for, have a dance with Gail at Angela's wedding, and then I'll be right there. It'll be no time at all. You'll see. Look how fast our kids have grown, already."

"It's a date," Jody said. "Now, give me one more really good kiss, and then I'm going to close my eyes. I want to go to my rest with that kiss on my lips."

So Frank kissed Jody, and she kissed him back, and then he put his hand on top of hers. She closed her eyes, smiling gently. Frank stayed by her side until she stopped breathing, and then he stayed a bit longer, as the tears ran down his face. He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it once more, feeling for her pulse. But there wasn't any. Jody was gone.

He stood slowly from the bed and then went downstairs to tell everyone.

They were in the funeral home, and the funeral director had come in to give them a discreet reminder that the viewing was going to be closing shortly.

It was just the family left, now. There had been quite a few police officers and their spouses paying their respects, as well as the Angel members of their extended family.

Barry and Tommy approached the coffin, hand in hand. They'd done a pretty good job with her, considering, Tommy thought. She was less pale than when they'd seen her at the house. Of course, that would be the makeup that the mortician would have put on her. Frank had told them to leave her hair grey, and he had brought jeans and a T-shirt for them to dress her in. They weren't dress-up people, and she'd grimly joked that wherever she was going, she was damned if it was gonna be in a dress.

After their Canadian friends said their goodbyes and left the salon, Cas stepped up to the casket. The others stayed back; even Gail. He had told them all that he wanted to say a special prayer over Jody in the ancient language, one that was supposed to bless her in the Afterlife, and that it was deeply personal. They had all been a little puzzled by the concept, but they'd respected his wishes.

Castiel stood close to the coffin with his back to everyone, speaking so softly that no one could hear. Not that anyone would have been able to understand, anyway. Gail and Sam would have had the best shot, but they were hanging back, looking on somberly. Gabriel almost certainly would have, but he and Liz had already left to go back to the house. There was going to be a meal for the family members and some of Jody's friends from the cancer charity, and Liz had offered to receive the guests and start serving the food until the family could get there. As people will often do, their friends and neighbours on the street had been bringing over soups and casseroles ever since they'd found out, and there was so much food now that they wanted to feed as many people at the house as they could before it all went bad. Later that night, there was going to be a more raucous wake, at the Hunter bar.

Cas was still speaking, and his hands were covering Jody's now. Then he did something that surprised and touched everyone. He bent down and kissed her gently on the forehead, speaking a few more words. Then he straightened up, lingered for a moment, and then he turned around and walked away from the coffin.

Bobby came next, and he was carrying little Angela in his arms. Frank and Jody had discussed beforehand how they felt about their daughter being here in this situation, and they'd been on the fence about it. Ultimately, Jody had left it up to her husband's discretion. So Frank had gently put it to Angela, and their daughter had said that if everybody else was going to be there, she wanted to be there, too.

In a weird kind of turnabout, Sam noted, Bobby was crying, but Angela wasn't. Her eyes were wide, though, and she was sucking her thumb, which was something she had never done before. Of course, she didn't have her constant companions with her, so it was probably just a comfort thing, Sam supposed. Frank had told his daughter that she would have to leave Poochie and Ralph at home for this, but that Liz would look after them until she got back. Angela had nodded solemnly. She trusted Auntie Liz.

Bobby kissed Angela on the cheek, and then he looked behind him, at Cas. "Would you take her out to the atrium, Cas?" Bobby said in a hoarse voice. The Angel came forward and took Angela from him, carrying her down the aisle between the chairs and out of the salon.

Bobby'd wanted to have his hands free, because he needed to take the handkerchief out of his pocket and use it. He honked into it a couple of times, then wiped his eyes. "Goodbye, dear," he said to Jody. "Hope to see ya soon."

Then Dean came, and then Sam. But neither of them lingered long, preferring to remember Jody in life, kicking ass and taking names. Not putting up with any of their b.s. Sam briefly considered giving her a kiss as Cas had done, but he couldn't quite bring himself to do it. This was Jody, but it wasn't. This was only her vessel now. Jody herself was...where? None of them knew. But it didn't really matter, because she wouldn't be coming back. She had made that clear. Way back when Jody and Frank had received her diagnosis, she had informed her husband that even if Bobby found her in the Garden and ascended her, she wasn't going to be some kind of Ghost Mom. It would be too confusing for a young child like Angela, whose life was already confusing to begin with. If Jody couldn't be Angela's full-time, human mom, she would just prefer to stay a memory. Besides, there was absolutely no guarantee that she was even going to the Garden, was there? So, there had been no discussion. Jody's decision was final, she'd told Frank.

Sam and Dean left the room, and now it was just Gail, Frank, and the boys. Gail was looking at her brother, trying to come up with the right words of comfort, or even any words at all. He looked so old; so broken. She had never seen him look like this before, not even in their darkest moments. It made her feel so sad, and it scared her, too. She had pushed Cas into admitting that Jody might very well go to another realm when she died. Like the Netherworld, for example. In fact, Cas didn't necessarily believe that Jody was destined for the Garden at all, he'd said.

Gail hadn't said anything to anyone, but as she stood there looking from Frank to Jody to the boys and back again, she was terrified. Would her brother's family be allowed to be together, when each of their times came? Would she and Cas ever see any of them again? Or worse, would Death take the grudge he held against Cas, and use it to punish their family?

She opened her mouth to say something to Frank, and all that came out was a loud sob. Frank turned to her. "Come here," he said, opening his arms. She rushed over to him and he hugged her tightly. Oh, great. Now HE was comforting HER. Just like always. It was a wonder that he didn't hate her, sometimes. Ever since they'd been kids, that was all that Frank had ever done. Comfort HER. Take care of HER. Why didn't he hate her? What good was she to him?

"Go see Cas," Frank said, in the gentlest, most tender tone she had ever heard him use. But she couldn't let go of him. She just couldn't. If Gail let go of her brother and left the room now, that would mean that Jody was really dead. And if Jody was really dead, that meant that any one of them could die, at any moment.

Gail felt an arm circle around her waist from behind. Cas had come to get her, instead. But as she turned to look at the arm's owner, she saw that it was Dean. "Come on," he said to her softly. "It's time to go." Dean put his hand on Frank's shoulder, and Frank covered Dean's hand with his. The three of them stood there like that for a moment, and then Dean led Gail away.

Now, it was just Frank and the boys. Eric stepped up to the coffin, holding a single white rose. He placed it gently in the casket, beside her left shoulder. "Thanks for being my Mom," he said to her. Then he stepped back, giving Rob his spot.

Rob placed his white rose next to Jody's right shoulder. A couple of tears fell from his eyes and splashed onto the petals. Rob wiped his face with his sleeve, and Frank's heart clenched. It wasn't fair. Rob kept on losing mothers. What the hell had the poor kid ever done to the Almighty, anyway?

"I don't think Dad or Eric will get too mad if I tell you that you were my best friend, in a lot of ways," Rob said to Jody. "Especially once I got older, and matured a bit. I felt like I could understand you better, then. When you made me go to Canada, I did a lot of growing up there, but I never forgot what you said about living my life and having fun, too." He paused. "I remember the holy hell you gave me when I said that I was never going to get married, though. That was right after your mastectomy. Remember? I told you I didn't want to settle down. But you told me I was young, and I would probably change my mind later on. So then I insisted, and so did you, and then I ended up telling you that I was scared to fall in love, because I couldn't stand the idea of losing somebody I loved that much. And you sat me down and I thought you were going to comfort me, but instead, you read me the Riot Act. I'll never forget that expression, like the other ones that you and Dad taught me. You told me that if you'd been too scared to fall in love with him, I wouldn't be your son. Then we both cried, and then we ate a whole box of chocolate chip cookies, and we sent Dad to the store for more."

Rob wiped his face with his sleeve again. "I can't wait to fall in love and get married, Mom. I can't wait to have cookies with my own kids. And every time I do, you'll be there, too. I love you."

Rob turned away from the casket, and then he and Eric went over to where Frank was standing. "I'll be there in a minute," Frank told his sons. "Look after your sister and your Aunt Gail, okay?"

"Dad..." Rob said tentatively, but Frank repeated, "I'll be there in a minute." He put one hand on Rob's shoulder and the other on Eric's. "You're good men. Your mother and I are very proud of you. Now, go on. I just want to talk to your mom for a minute."

The young men reluctantly left the room, leaving Frank by himself in the salon. Everyone had already been talking in hushed tones, but now, the salon was ultra-quiet. "Salon", they called it, Frank thought. What were they gonna do here, give him a perm?

He reached down and snagged a chair from the front row of seats, placing it by the end of the coffin where Jody's head was. Then he sank down wearily.

"I'll never understand why they have people come in here, and then, they have to run the family gauntlet," Frank said to her. "It's like a much less happy version of the receiving line at a wedding. If I had a nickel for every cliche I've heard today...I know people have to say something, and I know they're trying to be comforting. I know that. But it was really hard to keep my mouth shut when people would shake my hand or hug me and say 'she's with the Angels, now'. 'Friggin' right she is. Meet my sister and her husband, Cas. And see that guy with the beard over there? That's God.' If only. I would have loved to have seen the looks on their faces." He paused. "But, at least the dozens who said you weren't suffering any more had a point."

Frank looked at his wife's face. It was true: as cliches went, she looked at peace, now. Too many times in recent months she had looked like she was unhappy, and in a lot of pain. He hadn't asked her to hang on because it would have been selfish of him to do that.

"You surprised the hell out of me, Jody," Frank said softly. "A guy like me, lucky enough to get a woman like you. How I managed to do that is beyond me. At first, I just thought it was pity. Actually, I'm still not one hundred percent convinced it wasn't. You know what they say: pathetic is the new sexy." This would normally be the point where Jody would be rolling her eyes, telling him that pathetic was the new pathetic, and if he thought he was being funny, he was wrong. But it was just him, now. The salon was very quiet, and it was also dark. Maybe they were dimming the lights on him, trying to get him to take the hint. Kind of like when they flashed the lights at the intermission of a show, to remind you it was time to go back in. But Frank didn't really mind. Of course it was dark. His light had gone.

"You gave me everything," Frank said softly. "I love you."

He rose from his chair, pulling it back to the spot where it had been. Then he returned to the casket, looking down at Jody one last time. He reached up and lowered the lid of the coffin slowly, until it was completely closed. Then he stood there for a moment. A couple of choked sobs escaped him, and he let them out, indulging himself for a minute by having a good, cathartic cry. He'd been the rock for so long, the one that everybody looked to to be strong. That was his job. His responsibility. But, for just a moment, Frank let himself feel like the young teenage boy he'd once been. The terrified kid who had found his parents' butchered and bloody bodies in the living room of their family home, and then realized that he wasn't allowed to be a child any more. Earlier, he'd wondered what the hell God had against Rob. Well, what the hell did God have against HIM?

Frank looked down at the closed coffin lid and saw that some of his tears had fallen onto it, beading on the shiny wood. The oak coffin with the brass handles. Nicole hadn't shared that particular story with any of them yet. She would be waiting for them, back at the house. Dean had called her, and she'd assured him she would come.

Jody's husband wiped the tears from the coffin with the sleeve of his suit jacket. He'd told everybody to dress however they felt comfortable. After all, Jody had, he'd joked weakly. But he had wanted to wear the suit he'd worn at his and Jody's wedding here today. For her.

OK. OK. This was enough. Soon they were going to bring in an orchestra to play him off, like they did at the Oscars. He had kids who would be looking to him to set the example. Which meant that he had drinks to pour, bad dad jokes to tell, a little daughter to cuddle, and a brother-in-law to rescue. If Frank knew his sister, and he did, she was still crying buckets out there. Poor Cas would have to change his shirt. He wouldn't have seen that much water flowing since the days of Noah.

There. That was more like it. Frank touched his hand to his lips and put it on the coffin. "Goodbye, Babe." Then he stood up straight, squared his shoulders, and walked out of the salon to join his family.


	5. I'll Keep On Trying

Chapter 5 - I'll Keep On Trying

The house was bustling with activity when they got back from the funeral home. Liz and Gabriel had been acting as erstwhile hosts for all the humans who had been arriving, and they had been deploying their Angel family members to put out food, and coffee and tea. Liz had been doing some cooking and baking at Cas and Gail's house as well, and they had all been discreetly popping in and out of there. But Bobby had advised everyone very sternly about that. As far as any of these people knew, they were all humans. End of story.

When the immediate family arrived, Frank had just stood there at first. He hadn't ever seen this many people in the house at once, and it threw him for a loop. He was reminded of Cas and Gail's place, at Christmastime. But then, everybody started looking at him with those expressions. The ones that were a peculiar mixture of sympathy and concern, almost as if they expected him to have a meltdown, or something.

Dean grabbed Frank's arm and steered him to the dining room. He'd expected to see a bar set up there, he remarked. But as he looked around now, the elder Winchester saw a lot of women, including some older ladies, and some kids. Presumably, they were the cops' kids, or the neighbours', maybe.

"Wrong crowd," Gabriel said to the men. "Bobby said most of the cops she worked with, and some female sheriffs too, will be coming to the wake at the bar, later on. So Liz just made coffee and tea. I could go over to the bunker, if you want. Get a few libations from there."

"Yeah, couldja? That'd be great," Dean said, as Sam approached them. "Can you try to be quiet when you're there, Gabriel?" he asked the Archangel. "I don't want you to scare Becky, or the baby."

Gabriel looked at him. Yeah, right. Scare the baby. The only way THAT baby was gonna be scared by anybody was if they were holding Gabe's blade in their hand at the time. But he wasn't going to say that, of course. Cas was right. They had time for that particular dilemma. Nearly a decade, before things got really hairy. They had to deal with Raguel, first. But before they'd had the chance to have that little discussion, Jody had died, and they'd all been dealing with that. So the Beast could sleep easy in his crib for now. Gabe was actually surprised the kid's diapers weren't bursting into flames in that bunker. He guessed that even the famed Men of Letters hadn't had any idea how to ward against the actual Beast of the Apocalypse.

"Daddy, can I go to my room?" Angela said, tugging on Frank's pant leg. "Auntie Liz said she put Poochie and Ralph on my bed. Am I allowed to bring them to the kitchen with me? Rob said I can have some juice."

Frank smiled down at his daughter. "Of course you can take them to the kitchen," he told her. "This is your house. You bring them anywhere you want."

Rob took Angela by the hand, and now, Eric was checking the table that held the food and beverages, to see if anything needed replenishing. Boy, had those guys ever stepped up, Frank thought. They were excellent caregivers for Angela, and they almost always did stuff around the house without being asked.

"Excuse me; Frank?" A shorter, brown-haired woman approached him now, extending her hand. Frank shook with her, but he looked at her blankly. "Nelly. Dr. Vukovic," she introduced herself.

"Oh. Yeah. Jody's doctor friend, from Sioux Falls," Frank said.

"Yes, that's right. I'm very sorry for your loss," Nelly said. "Jody was a good friend, and a good person. You have a very nice home here, and a lovely family."

"Thanks," Frank said. He realized he had no idea what to say to this woman. He had no idea what to say to any of these people. Fortunately, she seemed to realize that, because the doctor moved away, after having offered her condolences.

"Man, I'm not very good at this kind of thing," Frank said to the Winchesters.

"And you call yourself a politician," Gail quipped, poking her brother's arm. She had taken a minute or two elsewhere in the house to put her game face on, and now she felt like she was ready to help.

"Where's Cas?" Dean asked her.

"He's talking to Nicole, Richard and Wilma in the living room," Gail replied. "As soon as we got here, Nicole asked if he would mind going to get them. They wanted to pay their respects, too. Why don't you guys go and say hi?" She looked at Frank. "You can tell them how much she liked the movie."

Frank put his arm around her. "You're all right, kiddo," he told Gail. "Well, you know, for a little sister, anyway."

"Hey, has anybody seen Gabriel?" Gail asked the men.

Dean told her where he'd gone, and Gail nodded. "That's a good idea," she remarked. "I'll go over there and help him." She lowered her voice. "I don't want him snapping a million bottles over here, all of a sudden." She looked up at Sam. "Don't worry; we'll be quiet." Then she walked out, towards the kitchen. She could go to Rob or Eric's room in the extra wing, and then wink herself out.

As Frank headed to the living room with Sam and Dean, and Gail was popping over to the bunker to help Gabriel, Barry was in the kitchen, asking Liz if he could help her with anything.

"No thanks, Barry," she said. She was loading the dishwasher. "We've had so many people helping out that everything's under control. Where's Tommy?"

"Paul offered to pop him over to our place," Barry replied. "Carolyn's there with the kids, but she wanted to see everybody, too. He was going to take her place sitting with the kids, but when Rob was taking Angela to her room, he said to bring them all."

"Oh, great," Liz said, brightening. "The more kids the better, right now. It's impossible to be sad around kids."

Barry grinned. "You might feel differently when they get here. Peter's going through that picky-eating stage right now. He won't eat any green vegetables. None. He's driving us nuts. I tried everything. I even sang to him: 'All we are saying is Give Peas A Chance'. He looked at me like I was certifiable, but Tommy laughed so hard he nearly snorted his beer out of his nose."

"That's actually pretty good," Liz said, nodding her approval. "You should tell Frank that one."

The two of them were silent for a moment, their hearts heavy for Frank. They would all have to rally around Gail's brother for a while.

Gabriel was rooting around in the bunker's kitchen when Gail got there. "What are you doing?" she asked him irritably. "I could hear you all the way down the hall!"

He was opening cupboards and rattling pots and pans around. "I'm trying to find something to put a few bottles in," he responded. "Bobby said not to zap anything over there, so I'm looking for..." He pulled out a colander, looked at it curiously, then put it back. "Geez! How do humans get anything done? Ever?" he groused.

Gail rolled her eyes, shaking her head. "You know, you could have just grabbed a bottle in each hand and made several trips," she told him. "But I'm here now, and it's a good thing I am, apparently. You grab two, I'll grab two, and we'll be done. Even Frank, Sam and Dean can't drink that much in a few hours. We're having Jody's wake at the Hunter bar later, so we don't need to take the whole bar over to his house. Now, come on. Put everything back, but do it quietly. Sam didn't want us to wake up the baby." Or Becky either, Gail thought. Gail had been here when Sam and Dean had been getting ready to go to the funeral home. Becky had asked Sam when he was going to be back, and Sam had said that he didn't know. Then Dean had told Becky to clam up. She wasn't Sam's wife, was she? What the hell did she care? Then she had started to cry, saying that Sam had hardly spent any time with Brian in the past few days, and Sam had reminded her that he had been helping Frank with Jody's funeral arrangements, and Gail had been glaring at Becky, just barely resisting the urge to march up to the girl and tell her to shut her big, stupid, self-centered mouth. So, needless to say, Gail wasn't especially eager to see Becky right now. And Gabriel wouldn't be of any help to her in that situation. He would probably set up a booth and sell tickets to the fight.

"Oh, yes. The baby," Gabriel muttered. "Heaven forbid we should wake up the baby." He started replacing the pots and pans he'd taken out of the cupboard by hand, but then he made an impatient sound. He waved his hand, and they all flew into the cupboards. The doors slammed shut.

"What part of being quiet don't you understand?" Gail exclaimed.

Gabriel straightened up, turning around to look at her. "Hey, since you and I are alone for a second, let me ask you something," he said to her.

"What?" she said, tilting her head, waiting for the quip or double entendre she was sure was to come.

But Gabriel surprised her. "Has Cas said anything to you about that baby?"

She looked closer at his face. "What do you mean? Like what?"

Gabe nodded slowly. He should have figured as much. Castiel was at it again. "OK, let me try another question, then," he said to her. "Has he mentioned anything about any Prophecies?"

Gail was bewildered. "OK, I'm completely confused, now. What about Cas and the baby? What Prophecies? What the hell are you talking about? Did I fall asleep in the middle of a conversation, or something? He hasn't mentioned anything to me about anything." But her heart was sinking now, because now, the weird stuff he had been saying at their house just before they'd gone to meet with Crowley was starting to make a little sense. Well, Castiel sense, that was. Gail swore that when she had a minute, she was going to go on social media and lobby to have the phrase "Castiel sense" listed in the Urban Dictionary, right next to "mansplaining". He would dance around a subject like one of those professional ballroom dancers, feeling her out for her views on whatever it was he didn't want to tell her, and then he would tell her about it at the eleventh hour, and she would just have to accept it, because by that time, it was already pretty much a fait accompli. Like their annulment. Oh, and by the way, before we can remarry, you'll have to marry some other guy. Boom. Then there was that dustup they'd had in Las Vegas recently. She had let him off the hook about that, but now she was wondering if she should have. Did that have anything to do with what Gabriel was talking about now? And, if so, how come HE knew about it, and she didn't?

Now Gabriel was wondering if he should have just kept his big yap shut. But he thought his Brother was being a giant ass right now. To give Cas the benefit of the doubt, maybe he'd thought that Gail couldn't stand to receive any more bad news at the moment. But was it really fair to keep her in the dark about something so big? The Prophecies had mentioned her too, and up until just recently, she'd been staying here in the bunker, with the Beast of the Apocalypse just down the hall. That kid may be a baby right now, and the bunker's generic warding was probably muting whatever abilities he may have at such a tender age. But Gabriel was willing to bet that that situation wouldn't hold for long.

"You know what? I'm not going to do this," Gail said, throwing up her arms in frustration. "We need to get back to Frank's house. I don't feel like being mad at you or Cas right now. I just want to be there for my brother. But believe me when I say we'll all be talking some more about this later."

Gabriel let out a breath. Phew. He had dodged a bullet, at least for the time being. "OK, Kitten," he said.

They popped to the room with the bar, got the bottles of liquor, and popped back out of the bunker.

Baby Brian lay in his crib as Becky slept. She hadn't heard a thing. But Brian's eyes were wide open, almost as if he'd been listening to every word that the Angels had said.

"I'm so sorry for your loss," Wilma said to Frank. That phrase was coming up on the outside now, trying to take the lead, Frank thought. Although he still thought that "At least she's not in pain any more" was slightly ahead.

But he thanked her, because that was what you did. "She really liked the movie," Frank said to her and Richard. "Thanks for doing that. That was a great night for us." The last one, he added mentally.

"Don't thank me; it was all Chuck's idea," Richard responded. "How is Laurel doing, by the way? We were all so shocked to hear about Chuck. Cas filled the three of us in on what really happened, but of course, no one on the production crew knows - " he dropped his voice, looking around " - about his status. They were all asking about the funeral, but we had to say that it was a private family service. But everyone wanted to do something, so they passed the hat and took up a collection. I asked Cas what he thought we should do with the money, and he suggested I should take it and give it to the women's shelter. And of course, we'll do an 'In Memoriam' at the end of the movie, like we did for Ted - I mean, Metatron."

"Geez, maybe you should just stop making those movies. This is the second scriptwriter you've lost now, isn't it?" Sam said, and then he looked instantly contrite. "I'm sorry. That was in poor taste," he apologized.

"How are YOU doing?" Frank asked Nicole. "I heard about all the troubles you had in Ottawa, with your grandfather's house. Is everything OK now?"

She looked at Gail's brother, surprised. He had just buried his wife, and he was asking about her piddly problems? "Yeah, it is," she answered him. "I changed my mind about selling it, though, at least for the time being. I had to go back to my job in Vancouver, but now that they're finished shooting the additional scenes, I think I might go back, for a while. It's nice there in the summer, and my Grandpa's still got a bunch of stuff I haven't sorted through, yet." She smiled warmly at Richard. "I work with the kindest people in the world," she added. "They passed the hat for me too, and the actors were more than generous. I was able to recoup all my Grandpa's funeral costs, so it's not as urgent for me to sell the house, now."

Dean was glad. He wasn't sure where they stood at the moment as far as PDAs went, but he slipped his arm around her anyway, and gave her a squeeze. He knew how strapped she'd been financially following her grandfather's funeral, and how proud she had been about accepting any kind of help. But it sounded like her co-workers hadn't really given her a choice, and he could also understand why it had been easier for her to take the money from them than from him.

Gail came into the room, standing between Frank and Dean. "Hi, everybody," she said. "I set up a bar in the kitchen, if anybody wants to partake." She looked up at her brother. "Have you eaten?"

He sighed. "Liz asked me the same thing. But I just want to have a drink, right now. Maybe I'll change into my jeans, too. I promise you I'll have something to eat before we go to the wake. OK?"

"Okay," Gail said, nodding.

"Hey, Bobby, let's go to the kitchen for a minute," Frank said, moving away from the group. Their friend was dressed in a suit too, and he was standing in a corner of the living room talking to a gaggle of older ladies from the collection division of the cancer charity. He was obviously in courtly Southern gentleman mode right now, but those ladies would think he was a human, and most of them were widows, or ladies who owned three or more cats. Bless their hearts.

Bobby looked up gratefully. "Excuse me, ladies," he said politely, and then he joined Frank. "Thanks," he said out of the corner of his mouth, and Gail's brother put his hand on Bobby's shoulder. Bobby'd been so good to them throughout this whole thing. The man was God, but he had always taken the time to be here whenever he was available, helping out with the kids, and with whatever else was needed. "No, Bobby, I should be thanking YOU," Frank said.

"Well, you are," Bobby said affably. "You'll be buying me my drinks tonight. Then, at the end of the night, whatever the tab is for all of us, it'll be mysteriously covered."

Frank stopped walking, looking at Bobby's face. "Just like all the funeral expenses were magically paid, when I went to write them a cheque?"

"We take care of our own, Son," Bobby said, gazing into Frank's eyes. "We always have, and we always will."

Son. Bobby had never called Frank that before. It threw him, for a minute. Bobby Singer didn't use that term lightly. Frank's eyes prickled with tears. Out of all the people who he'd thought might make him cry today, God wouldn't have even cracked the Top 20. So, Frank being Frank, he blinked the tears away and said, "Well, in that case, can I borrow the car keys, Dad? Or is the chariot with the winged horses in the shop?"

Bobby's beard twitched. "Maybe another time," he said. "You're not supposed to drink and chariot."

The men smiled at each other, and continued on to the kitchen.

Benoit Levesque was settling in as the elected President now, slowly deploying his staff into their various responsibilities, and departments of his cabinet. He had goals, of course, and agendae. But this had to be done gradually, and it had to be done right. He did not want another French Revolution on his hands, he thought with some humour.

The first thing he was going to do was to tighten security at the airports, train stations, and bus depots. Any place at which people could enter his country. Benoit didn't think there would be too much resistance to that idea. People were scared of terrorists, and terrorists were almost always from a different country, or claimed responsibility for heinous acts on behalf of those countries. A frightened and demoralized public wasn't able to make that distinction, or if they were, they didn't care to. All they knew was that they needed to feel safe when they were sitting on the patio at their local bistro, having a few glasses of wine after work.

But Benoit needed to do much, much more, and he needed the support of the people in order to do it. Well, he supposed he didn't really NEED their support, but he would like it. It was a lot easier to get things done when you had the full support of your people.

That was why he had sent his two teleporters, Hugh and Cody, out of the country to start the border project. They were going to drive into France from various points, deploying bombs that Toby had made in Dr. Roarke's laboratory to places just inside the borders. Now that Benoit ran the country, he knew where all of the security cameras were situated. Most of the time, if such nefarious activities were planned, the perpetrators would want to be as far away from surveillance cameras as possible. However, in this case, Benoit needed for them to be spotted. The boys were going to bail out of the trucks just before they crossed the border, and the immigrants they would hire to make the deliveries would be caught on camera, driving across the border to plant explosives. After a couple of those types of incidents, Benoit didn't think he would have any trouble passing a resolution that would allow him to set up Border Patrols and Checkpoints all around the country, and start to institute racial profiling. Other countries had done the latter, whether they admitted it or not. At the moment, he was very popular in the polls, but Benoit also knew that the bloom would come off the rose very quickly if he did not act soon, and follow up on his campaign promises.

He picked up the phone and asked his secretary to put through a call to Michelle Delacroix. They were keeping things under wraps for now, but when she came for a visit in the summertime, he was going to wine and dine her, and pour on the charm, and they were going to set the wedding date. By the time she was ready to go back to the States, he was hoping to be able to announce to the people of France that they could look forward to having a First Lady very soon.

"So, the guy had his hearing aid turned down," Bobby was telling the people grouped around the bar. "Jody and I flashed our badges and told him we were Agents McVie and Buckingham, and he *just stood there, squinting at our faces. So Jody says 'What are you looking at?", and he says, 'Asians? You don't look like no Asians to me.' We had to leave, before we were laughing so hard."

Everybody in the assembled group was laughing, too. They'd been telling old war stories for a couple of hours now, and eventually, the police officers and sheriffs had drifted out of the bar, many of them still laughing. Now it was down to family and close friends, and Dean had locked the front doors of the bar so they would be assured of having the place to themselves.

"How's Brian?" Frank asked Sam. "How's being a dad? Dean says you've baby-proofed just about everything in the place." "Dean exaggerates," Sam said, rolling his eyes.

"Well, if you do that thing to the toilet, just make sure you don't spring-load it," Rob said, nudging Sam. "I spent the night with a woman who had that thing on there, and I got up in the middle of the night to go. I nearly gave myself one hell of a circumcision." He looked sheepishly at Frank. "Whoops. I get the feeling I might have just overshared, a bit."

"Or a lot," Eric wisecracked, pouring out some more shots. He had hopped behind the bar, joking that he'd always wanted free rein at a drinking establishment. They had all kept the mood light, knowing this was the kind of send-off that Jody had really preferred.

Once the shots had been poured for everyone, Bobby raised his. "To Jody," he said. And that was all. Tomorrow, the humans were going to wake up with big heads and sick stomachs, and there would be a hole that no one could fill, a hollow space in their lives where Jody should be. Life would go on, because it always did, whether you participated in it or not. Frank would go back to work, his young sons would go back on the road, and Angela would either go back to receiving Angel daycare or start going to school. Frank hadn't decided yet. But they were on the verge of summer now, so he had time. He had nothing but time, in a way. After this, everybody would be going back to their usual routines, and they would probably check in on him a bit more often, for a while. But then that would drop off, and soon Frank would be on his own, looking at the empty side of the bed, a half-full closet, and an empty chair across the kitchen table. And then what would he do? Wait to live his life again, without the person who had made it complete? They had always kind of ridiculed Cas and Gail, and the over-the-top way they were with each other. But now, for the first time, Frank totally got it. How were you supposed to wake up every morning, knowing that the person you loved more than anything wasn't beside you? And it wasn't because they were downstairs in the kitchen making coffee or breakfast, or even just in the bathroom having a pee. It was because they were dead, dead and gone, and they would never, ever be coming back. How the hell did people DO it? Frank had no idea. He might just owe his sister a big, fat apology. When Cas had been dead and gone, Frank had told Gail that she had to face facts; Cas was gone, and she had to accept that and get on with her life. Well, look at Frank now. What a damn hypocrite he was. Now that it was Jody who was gone, Frank had no idea how he was supposed to go on without her. None. How could he be expected to? Why should he HAVE to?

But he told himself he was going to try. After all, what was the alternative?

"To Jody," Frank said, raising his glass.

It was summer now, and Frank was having a barbecue at the house. It was the first purely social thing he had done since Jody's funeral, and he told himself it was a good thing, because it meant that he was getting on with his life. Just like people said you should. He'd gone back to work, and for the first couple of days, it had been like the funeral home all over again. Most of his co-workers at City Hall had made it a point to seek him out, whether they knew him or not, and convey their sympathies. But it was kind of funny, too, because there were a small subset of those people who had looked terrified when they'd seen Frank coming. Those people went out of their way to avoid talking to him, like he had death cooties, or something. He could only conclude that those were the people who felt sorry for him but had no idea what to say, and so they were avoiding him for fear of saying the wrong thing. He guessed he could understand that. But after a while, it got to be a bit much. Some people remarked that he could have taken more time off; that he hadn't had to come back to work so soon. But Frank disagreed. What the hell was he supposed to do at home? At least here, he could try to do something productive. After all, he had run for election with the intention of making positive changes, and it was time to start doing that. Maybe if he could accomplish a few things that made a real difference in peoples' lives, he would stop feeling so crappy about his own.

So Frank and the Winchesters were in the butcher shop now to pick out steaks for his barbecue, and this was the scene that Chuck had seen when he'd been receiving the Prophecies that day. The Prophet had been right: this particular shopping excursion hadn't really been significant in the larger scheme of things. It had been kind of like the aroma a person experiences before sampling the food. But it had had to occur. Everything Chuck had foreseen was going to come true. He had seen a woman handing a flash drive to Gail, and that had been Abigail, giving her daughter the files on Vincent's children. That project had been temporarily shelved, due to bigger concerns. And Patricia had, of course, inhaled Chuck's Grace. She had finally gone to Heaven at the time of Jody's funeral, reasoning that all of them would be on Earth. She'd opened the cabinet where the red files were kept, but the file on the Book of Life hadn't been there. Great. Just great. Where WAS it? What had they done with it? Raguel had been very agitated when she had given him her report. Did that mean that they were using the information contained in that file to find the Book? No, all it meant was that Laurel had put another couple of stacks of files on Bobby's desk, and that file had been in one of those piles. But Bobby had been preoccupied with the situation with Jody, so he had put the files in the back credenza in his office, which was locked when he wasn't there.

There had been a lot of discussion going on between Cas, Gail and Gabriel about what to do about Raguel and Patricia. Thanks to Rowena, they now knew where Raguel was, and they knew that he and Patricia were frequently together. But, so what? Gail had asked, semi-rhetorically. What were they supposed to DO with that information? They still had no idea how to kill Raguel, and now that Patricia had her Angel powers back, it would be harder to beat the both of them, if it came down to a straight fight. And what had Patricia done, really, except to escape from the mental hospital? It was Raguel who'd killed Chuck and stolen his Grace. Not that Patricia was blameless in taking it, of course. But the Archangel was the biggest threat, and they couldn't just throw Patricia into Heaven's prison because they didn't like her, could they? Wouldn't that be tantamount to mirroring what she had done to Cas, in a way? And Cas actually had committed a murder at the time. They had no evidence that Patricia was directly guilty of any crime since the decision had been made to take away her Grace and send her to the mental hospital.

Besides, they knew where the two of them were, now. If either of them went on the move, Gabriel could track them. But why should they tip their hand now, if they didn't have to? Raguel still thought he was shielded.

So Frank and the brothers were in the butcher shop, browsing for meat for the barbecue. This was the same place that Sam had come to when he and Cas had bought those bloody animal organs for Becky. She and Brian had moved out of the bunker by now, back to Becky's house. Sam had helped her to baby-proof the place, and bought her everything that she could possibly need. A part of him felt bad that his little son wouldn't be around all the time for him to feed, or just to hold. But things had become too unmanageable. After a brief respite around Jody's funeral, when everybody had tried their best to get along, tensions had risen again. Dean had wanted to get back on the road, Cas and Gail had been popping in and out at all hours of the day and night, and oddly, so had Gabriel. It was driving Dean nuts. So one day, Sam had sat Becky down and told her it would be best for everyone if she moved back to her place. He would spend as much time as he could with little Brian and give her whatever she might need for the child, but things just had to be this way. He hoped she understood.

Becky kind of had, and she kind of hadn't. But in a way, it was a relief for her, too. Sam was a sweetie-pie, of course, but the others had all been giving her and the baby strange looks. She was used to that by now from Gail and Dean, but then Gabriel and even Cas had started doing it, too. It was probably Gail, influencing the Angels to come around to her point of view. It had never ended up coming to a fight, but Becky had been on her guard. She'd had the Angel blade under the mattress of her bed in the bunker that whole time, but Gail had never come in there, which was fortunate for her. Gail never even went near the baby. Maybe on some level she could sense what Becky was thinking. But when Becky had been packing up her things to move back to the house, that Angel blade had been the first thing that had gone in her suitcase. Because Angels could pop themselves anyplace, couldn't they?

But Becky was also sad, and more than a little mad. What the hell did she have to DO to get Sam, anyway? She'd given him a son! Had any of his other, skanky, girlfriends ever done that for him? What more did he want from her? But at least she had Brian now, and because he was Sam's, Becky would always be involved in Sam's life somehow, and he in hers. And as Brian grew older, who knew? Things might still change, Becky told herself. A baby was just a hungry, pooping blob most of the time. But an older child was someone you could do stuff with. Sam could take them to the park, or bowling, or to ball games. They could sit in a family restaurant and drink milkshakes, while Brian coloured one of those kids' place mat things. Or he and Sam could do puzzles together. Becky could just picture it now. Sam and Brian, with their heads together over a simple crossword puzzle. Brian was going to be smart, just like his father. But right now, he was boring. No wonder Sam didn't want to spend any time with him.

Frank looked up at the ceiling now, where the people at the butcher shop had raw beef suspended from the ceiling, for some reason. "Geez, I want to put on a good barbecue, but I don't know if I can afford it," he told the brothers. "These steaks are a bit high for me."

Sam laughed. It was good to see Frank making jokes and trying to do normal things again. Sam couldn't even imagine how Gail's brother had been feeling. Jody had been their friend, and her death had been painful enough for them. But she had been the love of Frank's life. That was the kind of thing you never really got past. But Frank was doing his best, and Sam admired him for it.

Dean was looking up at the ceiling too, and he noticed that there were some pigs hanging there, beside the beef. "Now we're living high on the hog," he said, elbowing Frank.

But Gail's brother gave Dean an indulgent look. "Really, Winchester? That's the kind of thing I would have expected out of Rob. You're gonna have to step up your joke game, if you want to hang around with me."

Sam was staring at the organs that were on display under the counter. He and Becky had never really talked about why she had been looking up information about eating live animals that day, and he was reminded of that now. Oh, well. He guessed it was water under the bridge. Maybe she'd been reading something about the subject in one of the books from the bunker's library. They had a lot of weird stuff in that library, and she'd had a lot of free time when she'd been there.

Frank nudged Sam now, lowering his voice. "What are the chances that Becky'll let you bring Brian, without her tagging along?" he asked the younger Winchester.

Sam sighed. "Try: slim, to none. She won't let him out of her sight, most of the time."

Dean had heard. He knew Frank had been speaking quietly for his benefit, but it was pointless. This situation, stupid as it was, wasn't going to go away. But at least Becky the Bubble-Headed Bimbo was out of the bunker now. Dean didn't really feel one way or the other about Brian, which was kind of weird, in a way. He wasn't really a kootchie-kootchie-koo kind of guy, but still, he'd thought that he would have felt something for his nephew. Maybe when the kid got a bit older, Dean thought, unconsciously thinking along the same lines as Becky. When Brian was able to walk and talk, maybe Dean would be able to bond with him a little more. And it seemed like everyone but Sam pretty much felt the same way. Even Cas. Cas WAS a kootchie-kootchie-koo kind of guy, but even though their Angel friend would still help Sam get things for the baby, he didn't really rush to hold the kid or diaper him anymore. And Gail had never been warm towards Brian, either. Of course, that was probably a bit of a holdover from the way she and Dean had felt about the way the kid had come into being, in the first place. They had still never received an ounce of proof that Sam was actually Brian's father. But there didn't seem to be much point in resurrecting that old fight. If Becky was bugging Sam for a commitment, or getting a lawyer or something, then Dean would definitely insist on some kind of paternity test. But once Becky had moved out, it just hadn't seemed as important any more.

As the men were buying the meat for Frank's party, Gail and Cas were at his house, helping Liz chop vegetables and fix salads. Gabriel had volunteered to go over to Becky's house and pick her and the baby up for the barbecue.

Becky had been standing in the living room, waiting for her "ride". She had Brian ready, along with all of the other things that came with him: the diaper bag, stroller, bassinet, formula, and extra jumpers. Gee, what a pain. Who knew that such a tiny human could come with more luggage than a small airport?

She was looking around the room, wondering idly if she needed to bring anything else. And because she hadn't really been concentrating on anything in particular, an idea began to form in her mind now. But, was such a thing even possible? Well, there was only one way to find out, wasn't there? She went to the kitchen and opened the cupboard where she'd stashed Rowena's spell book. Since Sam came over so often these days, Becky had taken the book off the living room shelf and hidden it here. And just to be on the safe side, she had bought a couple of cookbooks to put in the cupboard with it, and taken the paper cover off of one of them to put around the spell book. She knew she wasn't supposed to have it. If she got caught with it, there would be a lot of questions she wouldn't be able to come up with any answers for. She should probably just have taken it back to the bunker when she'd been there, and slipped it back into the spot she'd taken it from. But something had made her hang onto it; some notion that she wasn't quite done with it yet.

Becky flipped through the book eagerly. The idea she'd had was already starting to take hold in her mind. But how on earth was she going to get away with it? The answer was simple: There was no way she could. So, if she found what she was looking for, and she wasn't even sure that such a spell existed, someone else would have to be held responsible for it. But, first things first: Was there even such a thing as an Aging spell?


	6. Season Of The Witch

Chapter 6 - Season Of The Witch

Gabriel popped back over to Frank's house, but he was alone.

"Where are Becky and the baby?" Liz asked him.

"She told me she wasn't ready yet," he replied, shaking his head and rolling his eyes. "What's to get ready? It's summertime, and he's a baby. Diaper, bib, done. Same with her," he added, smirking.

"Well, did she say how much longer she was going to be?" Gail said, annoyed. "The guys are going to be here soon, and Dean said he's starving. You know what that means, right? It means if Frank doesn't get that grill fired up and shove some food in Dean's face ASAP, we're all going to have to listen to him whine and complain. Sometimes I think HE should be the one wearing the diaper."

Gabe shrugged. "Dunno. She said she'd call Cas when she was ready for pickup."

Becky was rushing around now, putting the ingredients in a bowl. She couldn't believe it. Not only did the book have an Aging spell, but it was simple, and she already had all the ingredients for it in the house! How lucky was that?

But there was no way she was even going to think about using it on Brian right now. Not without some kind of a test run, first. Rowena had two versions of the spell here in the book: one that was temporary, and another one that was permanent. Becky would try the temporary version out first, and if that worked, she could proceed. The only problem was, if it did work, she would need to come up with some kind of explanation for the result. She had decided that Brian should be about 8 years old. Young enough to still be cute, but old enough to be able to do things with. But obviously, Sam couldn't just come over one day and discover that his baby son was suddenly old enough to be in Grade 3 at the local elementary school, could he?

But first of all, she had to find out if she could even pull it off. She had messed up on the love potion she had tried to give to Sam, and Vincent had made the other one, the one that had worked. So she studied the book intently, determined to get this one right. And she almost did. There were only two more ingredients to add, but they had to be measured very precisely. Then Becky's cell phone rang.

"How much longer are you going to be?" Gail said irritably. "We've been waiting for quite a while now. Do you want us to just start without you?"

"No, don't do that," Becky said hastily. "I'm almost finished."

"Finished WHAT?" Gail said, exasperated.

"Uh...I had to change Brian's diaper, and then he spit up on his shirt, and so I had to change THAT, and..."

"Look, I don't need to hear all that stuff, I just need to know: are you coming, or not?" Gail persisted.

Becky's eyes narrowed. What a bitch. SHE should try having a baby, sometime. See how easy it was, Becky thought sarcastically. Well, Rowena's book said that the spell would work on anybody. Humans, Demons, even Angels. Terrific. Gail was going to be the lucky guinea pig, then.

"Is she coming, or what?" Gabriel said grumpily in the background. "I'm not Yellow Cab, here."

Becky rolled her eyes. Fine. Gabriel had just volunteered, too. "Give me ten minutes," she pled with Gail.

Cas's wife sighed. "All right. Ten minutes."

So Becky hung up her phone, but she was so rattled now that she mixed up the last two ingredients. Then, when she said the incantation, she got one of the words wrong. Such things sometimes happened when an ancient and powerful spell was rushed through. She was oblivious, of course. She poured the potion into the flask, spilling some in the sink. Oh, well. This would have to do. But this should be plenty. She just hoped that Gabriel would be having something to drink that she could slip some of this potion into. Gail almost certainly would be. She was always boozing it up. She was lucky; with all those empty calories she consumed, if Gail was a human, she would weigh two hundred pounds by now. Becky herself had been as big as a house when she'd been expecting Brian, but now she was her old, skinny self again. All those women who whined about pregnancy pounds were just using that as an excuse, Becky thought spitefully. Too bad this potion wouldn't make Gail really, really fat, too. See how attracted to her Cas would be, then. But the potion would make her and Gabriel old, and it would be hilarious. But it was only going to be temporary. It was just a test, and Becky didn't quite have the nerve to do anything that overtly terrible when there was a slim possibility that she could be found out. Cas had always been really nice to Becky, but if he ever found out that she'd done something that mean to Gail, even though it would only be temporary, Becky was a little scared of what he would do.

But because she had both mixed up the ingredients and their measurements, and erred in the incantation, the potion Becky was about to administer to the unsuspecting Angels would have quite a different effect than she had intended. And, without an antidote, the change would also be permanent.

They were all sitting around in the back yard chatting after dinner, and Dean was patting his stomach. "That was really good," he commented. "I may razz you about some things, Frank, but I can't deny you've got some mad skills when it comes to barbecuing steaks."

"'Mad skills'?" Sam said with a grin. "When did Rob and Eric get here?"

"I wish they WERE here," Frank said with a brief smile. "Then, we wouldn't have to get our own beers." He was quiet for a moment, and then he looked at Cas and Gail. "I've got a question for you: how would you guys feel if I sold this house?"

Gail's forehead wrinkled. "What are you asking US for?"

"I don't know, exactly," Frank admitted. "It's just...you built the extension for the boys, Cas, and I know how sentimental you guys get, sometimes. But I don't really need all this space any more. There's just me and Angela, really. The boys are on the road a fair amount these days, and they've been feeling me out about getting their own place. I think they've been holding off because they're worried they'll be deserting me, or something. But when they get back, I'm going to sit them down and tell them to go. They don't need to be living with their old man, not at their age. And I've decided to send Angela to school in the fall. She's gotta start interacting with kids her own age. She's a little too introverted for my liking. All she does is read, and talk to those stuffed animals."

"Wow," Gail said, taking a sip of her wine. "Don't sugarcoat it. What you're saying is that she's becoming a little too much like I was."

Frank sighed. He'd been afraid that she was going to take it like that. "Yes, and no," he said to his sister. "It used to hurt me when I would see you just sitting there by yourself, all the time. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with reading, or anything. Or even talking to stuffed animals, if that's what helps you get through. But she needs to make some real-life friends, Gail. Like you and Liz."

Gail was the one to sigh, now. "You're right. I know you are. It was great when Liz and I found each other."

"Well, I'll tell you what: she's been terrific to me, too," Frank said. "Now I'm almost sorry I tormented you guys so much when we were kids. Almost."

As the siblings smiled at each other, Gabriel came out of the house. "I don't know how Liz does it," he remarked, shaking his head. "She's changing Brian's diaper with one hand, and reading to Angela with the other. Give her a few more arms, and she could be OctoMom." He looked pointedly at Becky, but she just sat there, drinking her cocktail. He let out a breath. Boy, talk about oblivious. Gabe walked by where Cas and Gail were sitting. Cas had a bottle of wine in his hand, and he'd been about to replenish Gail's glass. Gabriel yoinked the bottle out of Cas's hand and snapped his fingers. A glass appeared in his other hand. He poured himself a glass of the wine, then handed the bottle back to Cas.

Gabriel took a seat, taking a sip from his glass. Becky smiled to herself. Good. Now all she needed was a distraction of some kind, and she could dose both Gail and Gabriel. But how was she supposed to get the potion into their glasses of wine without anybody seeing?

But then, the opportunity presented itself when Cas went to replenish Gail's glass, and it only filled halfway. He peered at the bottle. "It's empty," he said.

"I'll get another bottle," Becky offered, starting to rise from her chair. "I have to go to the washroom, anyway." She got up before anyone could object, or before Gabriel decided to just snap his fingers again. But the Archangel was putting his feet up on a second chair now and drinking his wine, ignoring her.

So she rushed into the kitchen and got the bottle of wine out of the fridge, opening it. There was no time to lose. She took the flask out of her purse, looking around nervously. Nobody in sight. She poured some of the wine down the sink to make room for the potion, added it to the bottle, then wiped the bottle and put the cap back on. Luckily, when Gail drank, she drank cheap wine, so there was no cork to have to replace. Then Becky brought the bottle back outside, giving it to Cas.

He thanked Becky, and as she moved to sit back down, Cas looked at Frank and said, "It's your decision, of course, but since you asked for our opinion, I will give you mine. I wish you wouldn't sell this house, Frank. You are probably thinking that there are some sad feelings connected with it right now, and I can certainly understand that. But there are a lot of good memories here, too. We've had many good days here, with you and the rest of the family. You were living here when Angela was born."

"Yeah. We strained some muscles helping you build that nursery for her, remember? All Cas did was wave his hand, but me and Sam sweated and strained helping you and Rob build the nursery," Dean pointed out.

Frank grinned. "I remember. I think that was the only time in all the time I've known you that I've seen you do any actual work."

Dean pretended to scratch his face using just the one finger, and Frank continued to smile. "Actually, Cas, you could have a point," Gail's brother said. "Maybe I'll think about it some more."

"That's what Nicole did," Dean said, his expression growing more serious. "She's in Ottawa at her Grandpa's house now for the summer. Now that Chuck's gone, they have to figure out what they're gonna do about the show, going forward. She said they might not make any more movies. They might just go back to the TV format. So until they decide, everything's on hold. She's been going through all the old stuff her grandfather had at the house. She said she found a bunch of old pictures, and things. So now, she's thinking she might keep the house. Fix it up a bit. Sammy told her he thinks she could turn it into a Bed and Breakfast place, or something like that."

"It's big enough, and there are lots of rooms," Sam said with a half-shrug.

"Maybe you should have left the ghost in the place," Frank joked. "Use it as a marketing tool. A lot of people like junk like that, because they have no idea what it's really like, dealing with a vengeful spirit. Right, guys?"

As Sam and Dean were lifting their beers, toasting Frank's statement, Nicole was also talking about her plans for the house. She was on the phone with a friend of hers from Vancouver, talking about the possibility of doing what Sam had suggested.

"Isn't that a little crazy?" Anna said, and Nicole sighed. She liked Anna, but her friend was so negative about so many things. She was always pointing out the potential problems with...well, anything and everything. The reasons why something shouldn't be done, rather than why it should.

"I don't know," Nicole replied. "I think it's something to think about."

"But you live here, in B.C.," Anna went on.

"I never said that I would run the place," Nicole pointed out. "But if the business does well, it could be a good investment for me. Things are so up in the air with the show right now. I don't know how much longer I'm going to be employed."

"Well then, that's all the more reason not to do it," Anna insisted. "Do you know how much that would cost? If you think you're going to be out of a job soon, you should be saving your money."

Nicole pursed her lips tightly together, but she said nothing. Because, as negative as Anna was being, she had a point about that.

"I guess I'm going to have to think about it a bit more," she told her friend. Then she hung up, sitting back in her chair. Should she even bother doing the research, then? Should she maybe call Dean, and ask him what he thought? No. No. She was a strong, independent woman. She wasn't going to fall into the bad habit of calling her boyfriend every time she needed to make a decision about something. Or was he even her boyfriend, anymore? She supposed not, in a way. She had rejected his proposal, right here at this kitchen table, and told him to feel free to see other women. Maybe she'd even meant it at the time. It really wasn't fair to ask him to hang around twiddling his thumbs, waiting for her to sort out her life. Neither of them was getting any younger. But they kept gravitating together anyway, or maybe it had just been due to circumstances. Nicole had wanted to be there for Dean when Jody had died, of course. And they'd Skyped a couple of times since then. But Nicole didn't want to start depending on Dean emotionally. That had been her whole point, in the first place. The only question she couldn't seem to answer was why. Was it because what he did for a living was so dangerous? No; that didn't really make sense. What about all those people in the military who were married, and all the cops, and firefighters? Arguably, their jobs were even more dangerous; or at least, they were equally so. No, it was because there was some part of her that was reluctant to open herself up to that extent. Maybe she should see someone about that.

Victoria watched Nicole now, as she always did, ever since Nicole had come here after Evgenyi had died. The ghost was calm at the moment. It was nice to see a family member here again, she thought. Nicole's grandparents and parents had all moved on now, but Victoria had remained. She had unfinished business here on Earth, and besides, she'd always loved to watch over the children.

Nicole thought her grandmother was Victoria Buxhoveden, which was the true spelling of the name. But, she wasn't. Victoria was the spirit who was actually occupying the house. "Haunting" it, they said, although Victoria wasn't sure how she felt about that term. She'd gotten very agitated when Nicole had brought those Hunters and the Angels here. They had no business poking around, handling the family's things. And if they thought they were going to make Victoria leave before she was ready to go, they were wrong. So she had sent the little boy to tell them his sad story. Every word of it had been the truth, and at the end, he had been able to move on from the spirit world, the Hunters had left, and Victoria had stayed. She had been a little surprised that such experienced men would have accepted the red herring of the boy so easily. She'd thought that maybe the male Angel would have been able to sense the malevolence around her, since he was an ancient being, himself. How on earth would such a small, inexperienced boy have been able to stand the cedar chest on its end like that? Ghosts were not bound by human limitations, of course, but they still had a pecking order, like every other kind of entity.

But the investigators had left, and then Nicole had, too. Then she had come back, and it had done Victoria's spectral heart good to see the girl looking through some of her family photos. Would she be able to piece it together, or would Victoria have to make another showing? The ghost didn't like the idea of turning this place into a Bed and Breakfast. All those strangers, trampling around. Victoria might have to do something about that too, if it came to pass. But right now it looked as though Nicole was reconsidering the notion, so Victoria would just bide her time for now and see what transpired.

Gail was quiet and thoughtful now, so much so that Frank had to speak to her a couple of times before she registered.

"Sorry; what?" she asked her brother.

"I just wanted to know what YOU think of this whole to-sell-or-not-to-sell thing," Frank said. "You didn't really say."

Oh. Yeah. She guessed she hadn't. "I guess, if you really want to know, I'm with Cas," she said. "And I see you rolling your eyes over there, Dean. But I'm not just agreeing with Cas because he's Cas. I really do agree with his point. A house is just a building, but it's the memories you have about it that make it special. Like our place." She took Cas's hand. "We don't spend a lot of time at our house in the grand scheme of things, but I couldn't imagine ever getting rid of that place. Yes, some bad things have happened while we were living there, but how about the wonderful family Christmases we've had there? That's what I always think of when I look around our house." Well, that, and a lot of very romantic times with Cas, she said to him over their frequency now, and he smiled and gave her hand a squeeze. Before they'd come here earlier in the afternoon to help with the food preparation, Gail had been putting on some shorts and a T-shirt inside, while Cas had been checking on his garden in the back yard. Then she had come out to admire the flowers that he was growing there, and he had been asking her if she thought he needed a couple more varieties. So she had stepped closer to take a look, and to smell some of the blooms, and she'd gotten a scratch from one of the other plants he'd put there for aesthetic purposes. The scratch had drawn blood, and Cas had apologized to her, waving his hand and making the offending plant disappear immediately. He usually gardened the human way, saying that there was something eminently more satisfying about that. But no plant that had hurt his wife would ever be allowed to flourish in his garden, he'd said to Gail, making her smile. Then he'd gotten down on one knee to heal the scratch on her thigh, and then he'd kissed the spot, and one thing had led to another, and a half hour later, they'd both had to shower and change again. No, there was no way that Gail could ever sell that house. She and Cas had made love in every nook and cranny of that place. But that was something they didn't necessarily need to share with the others.

"Anyway, that's not what I was thinking about," Gail told her brother. "I was thinking about what you said earlier, about me reading all the time when I was a kid. It was funny, too, because I did all that horror and fantasy reading when I was little, and do you remember what the only book that REALLY scared me was?"

Frank nodded. "Actually, yeah, I do. 'Odd Planet'. It's silly now, but there were a couple of stories in there that even freaked ME out. Of course, that was before Dad took me down to the basement and told me our little family secret. I'm sure all that stuff would seem really tame, now."

"Like what?" Sam said with interest. "What kind of stories?"

"I'll tell you the freakiest one," Gail said eagerly. "I remember it so well because it was so eerie. There was a small town in Indiana, I can't remember the name...anyway, the citizens there were puzzled one winter morning, when they found a cryptic message painted in huge letters on the sidewalk in front of the public grade school. The message said: 'Remember Pearl Harbour'."

"So? What's so freaky about that?" Dean asked her.

Gail smiled. "I'm not finished. All the people who saw it commented on the strange message. But they never knew who put it there, or why. And it was really nothing to get excited about at the time it occurred. Because the infamous attack on Pearl Harbour didn't take place until two years later. To the day. Da-dun-da!" she added dramatically.

"OK, I have to admit, that's pretty eerie," Sam remarked.

"I thought of that book because you guys were talking about Nicole's house in Ottawa. That reminded me of it, because of that cedar chest she's got. Remember? All three of you guys had to set it back down on the floor, from where it was standing on its end in the corner. There was a story in the book about a crypt in Barbados, way back in the day, where the coffins were all standing on end like that, in the middle of the room. I don't remember all the details any more, I just remember that it creeped me out," Gail said.

"Seriously?" Dean scoffed. "That Pearl Harbour thing was obviously a psychic thing, and that coffin thing sounds like a restless spirit."

Gail let out a frustrated breath. "I was just a kid, Dean. A little kid. It's easy for us to say now, but those kinds of things can be very scary to a kid who doesn't have any idea that those kinds of things really exist."

They were all quiet for a moment, and then Gabriel said, "Hey, Frankster, I've gotta tell you, I'm kind of liking this wine. Is this a different brand than you usually get?"

"No, it's the same cheap plonk Gail always drinks," Frank said affably.

Gail made a face at her brother, but Cas grabbed the bottle from the table and looked at it.

"Come on, Brother, have a snort. Live a little," Gabriel said. He snapped his fingers, and a glass appeared on the table next to Cas. Cas smiled a little, gave a half-shrug, and let go of Gail's hand long enough to pour himself a glass.

"Well, he may not be drinking very much, but I know he's been gambling," Frank said to Gabriel. "I've been volunteering at the Cops For Cancer donations office, and a little birdie told me their donations have increased exponentially. They've been finding envelopes of money shoved under the door, every few days. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you, Cas?"

"Now why on earth would you think that I would know anything about that, Frank?" Cas said innocently. He sampled the wine, attempting to change the subject. "This IS good."

Oh, crap, Becky thought. She hadn't meant for Cas to have any of the potion. Besides Sam, he had been the only one who'd been nice to her throughout this whole thing. Well, him and Bobby, but she hardly saw Bobby any more. But it was too late, now. She kept watching Gabriel and Gail out of the corner of her eye. How long would the stuff take to work? That was the one thing that was missing from that spell book: if it was really like a recipe book, at least you would know that it took, say, two hours to take effect. Like when you were making a cake, and it told you when it should be done.

Angela came running outside, the ever-present Poochie and Ralph in her arms. "Daddy! It's my bedtime!" she announced.

He was bemused. "Ummmm...OK. What do you want ME to do about it?"

He was kidding, of course. Angela obviously knew that, because she looked around at everyone. "I want Story Time, and I want Uncle Cas today," she said matter-of-factly.

"Your wish is my command, My Lady," Cas said, bowing his head. Angela giggled. "OK. See you guys in a minute," she said pertly, running back into the house.

Liz passed the little girl on her way out of the house. "Brian is fed, dry, and down for the count," she told Becky.

"Have a seat," Frank said to their Angel friend. "Every time I see you, you're working. Take a load off."

"Do you want a glass of wine?" Gabriel asked her, motioning to Cas for the bottle.

"No, thanks," Liz said. "I think I just want to rest, for a minute."

"We were going to go inside and do Story Time for Angela," Cas said, offering his hand to Gail. "If you change your mind, have some. It's really very good."

"I think I'll stay out here with Liz," Gabriel said to the others. "You guys go ahead."

"I think I'll stay here, too," Becky said. She was enjoying having a couple of drinks, and having somebody else take care of Brian, for a change.

Gabriel shot her a look. He'd been hoping to make out with Liz a little. Or a lot. She'd been spending a lot of time here, and he'd been doing Heavenly stuff with Castiel.

But Becky didn't care. Gail was trying not to smirk at the expression on Gabe's face. "Come on," she said to Sam and Dean. "We need actors."

The brothers rose obediently and followed Gail, Cas and Frank into the house and down the hall to Angela's room. She was sitting up in bed, waiting. Poochie and Ralph were on either side of her, as always.

Cas drew up a chair beside the bed, and the others gathered around him. He thought for a moment, and then he began:

VIGNETTE - GUARDIANS OF THE NURSERY

"Once upon a time," Cas said to Angela, because all of the really good stories started that way, "there was a group of ragtag space adventurers, called the Guardians of the Nursery."

Frank smiled. The last time they had all been together, Cas had seen the movie he was referring to now for the first time ever, and he had liked it a lot. So it wasn't particularly surprising that he was drawing on it now.

"The Captain of the starship was a man named...Sun Prince," Cas continued. He glanced at Gail. "Sun Prince is supposed to be the hero of the story, but he makes lots of mistakes along the way. Luckily, he has a beautiful female partner, who is the one who actually runs the ship. She's really the boss, of course, because everyone knows that women are the smarter people. Right?" He booped Angela on the nose, and she laughed. "Right, Uncle Cas!" the little girl exclaimed pertly.

Gail was smiling. Jody had always liked her daughter to hear stories about strong females. "Up top," Cas said to his niece, and she slapped his open palm. Now everyone was smiling. They couldn't help it. Cas and Angela were just so darn cute together.

"So, Sun Prince and Gailora are in love," Cas went on, as Angela listened with great interest. She knew which movie he was talking about, of course. But Uncle Cas always put on his own unique version of these stories, and they were always even better to Angela than the original ones, because they always predominantly featured love, and the characters were the people she loved the most in the whole world.

But Dean was rolling his eyes. "Gailora?" Cas needed to be a little more creative. He guessed "Sun Prince" was not too bad, but Cas always used a version of "Gail" in every story he told. It was like he couldn't stand the idea of being in love with a different woman even in a made-up story. And, of course the characters were in love. Every time Cas saw any kind of a couple in the movies, they were automatically him and Gail. The two robots in that cartoon movie where nobody even talked for the first half hour, the two dogs that shared that plate of spaghetti and meatballs...they didn't even have to be people, for crying out loud.

"Hey, Cas," Dean interrupted. "Have you and 'Gailora' ever ordered a plate of spaghetti and meatballs, just so you could push the last meatball over to her with your nose?"

Angela giggled. She didn't mind these tangents, because they were always really funny, even if she didn't always get the joke. "That's silly, Uncle Dean," she told him. "Angels don't eat. Well, except for at Christmastime."

"But if we did, we would totally do that," Gail said happily. "And we would eat the same strand of spaghetti, too, so we would be kissing at the end of it."

"I would give your Aunt Gail the last meatball, each and every time," Cas assured the little girl.

"Oh, so you would give her all your balls; is that what you're saying?" Dean said, smirking.

"Of course I would, Dean, if that was what she wanted," Cas said mildly.

Now Dean and Sam were grinning at Frank, and Gail's brother was grinning back. "OK, who's gonna say it?" Dean joked. "Any takers?"

"Settle down, Egbert," Gail said sharply, pulling out the name she used for Dean when she wanted to get his attention. Men were so juvenile, sometimes. She looked at Cas. "Back to your story, Sun Prince."

Cas smiled warmly at her, and then he looked at Frank. It was so good to see him smiling. Cas knew better than anyone how badly it hurt to have your spouse taken away from you so cruelly. He ought to; it had happened to him over and over again, for centuries now. He just hoped it wasn't about to happen again.

"There is a big, strong man travelling with Sun Prince and Gailora through the galaxy," Cas said now. "He's very tough on the outside, but he's very kind on the inside, and he's also very, very funny."

Then, Cas took a bit of a risk. He wanted to make a point. So he said, "That character is trying to cope with the loss of his wife, on Earth. He looks forward to the time when he can be reunited with her, and they can be together again." He was saying this in part for the little girl's benefit. Frank had advised that Angela, although very smart, had been asking many puzzled questions about her mother. She was still too young to understand all the ins and outs of the Afterlife. Cas was as old as time itself, and even he had trouble understanding it all, sometimes. But he wanted to try to provide some kind of comfort for his niece, even if it was pure conjecture. The adults in Jody's life had no such comfort, though. Bobby had reported back that Jody had not been in the Garden. He'd checked every corner of the place, every day since she had died, and there had not been a trace of her.

"The team will help that man every way they can, because they all love him very much," Cas continued, "and because that's what families do. Right?" He booped Angela on the nose again. She had the cutest little button nose, just like her Aunt Gail's, Cas thought. Much of the time, it was easy to forget that Frank and Gail were not actually related by blood. Not that that kind of thing had ever mattered in their family.

And again, Angela responded, "Right!"

Frank's eyes were prickling now, and there was a lump in his throat. Cas was so good with her, and even though what he'd said had been a little hard for Frank to hear, he was touched by what Cas was saying, and by Angela's reaction to it.

"And they have another member of the team," Cas said now. "He's a very clever marsupial. Do you know what a marsupial is?" he asked Angela.

"Uh, Cas..." Sam piped up. "A racoon isn't actually a marsupial, or even a rodent, as many people seem to think. It's actually a member of the Carnivora order of mammals."

"Well, I guess we've found our know-it-all racoon," Dean wisecracked.

"He's always helping the team by doing research, and figuring things out," Cas continued, smiling at Sam. "And then, there's a tall, strong 'tree man', who's a man of few words," Cas added, looking pointedly at Dean. "He can only say 'I am Dean'. That's ALL he is able to say." He was smiling at Dean now, and Gail's lips were twitching furiously. She had to hand it to Cas. That was certainly one way to shut Dean up.

"But he's very brave, and very kind-hearted," Cas went on, "even though he likes to tease his family, sometimes. Maybe a little bit more than he should." Cas's eyes were twinkling now.

Dean couldn't let that stand, of course. "Hey, look at me," he wisecracked. "I'm a big, strong, hard piece of wood."

"You're about as smart as one, anyway," Gail said, rolling her eyes. "But I see what you're getting at, and may I remind you, Story Time is PG, only. So, cool it,...Galoot." She looked at Angela. "What your Uncle Cas forgot to tell you is that the tree man's name is 'Galoot'. Okay, carry on, sweetie."

Cas was smiling. "Oh, yes. You're quite right, my love. The tree man's name is Galoot. He's a Big Galoot."

Frank reached underneath one of Angela's nightstands now, taking out one of her toys. It was a figurine of the tree man from the movie. She'd had it beside her bed for a couple of weeks after Rob had bought it for her, and as children will do, she had played it, and played it, over and over, until Frank said he was gonna grab that tree man and plant him in the backyard if he heard that stupid tune one more time. So the figurine had been sidelined. But now, Frank wound it up as far as it would go and placed it on top of the nightstand. The thing danced as it played its little tune, and Frank looked at Dean.

"Dance, tree man," Gail's brother said to Dean now, and the elder Winchester looked at him. Yeah. Like hell he would.

But then, Angela gave Dean The Face. That cute, little, pleading face. Like her Aunt's doe eyes, on steroids. Like that stupid cat in that kids' movie, with the great big eyes and the trembling lip. Aw, geez.

So Dean started to dance like the figurine, much to Angela's delight. She laughed and laughed, and when Dean wiggled his butt, she laughed even louder, clapping her hands excitedly.

Gail was shaking her head, but she was smiling widely. Angela loved her Uncle Dean, and Gail knew that Dean had an extremely soft spot for Angela, too. That was sweet, but now that she thought about it, it was also a bit sad. Angela was the little girl that Dean should have had, had things worked out differently for him. Sam had a son now, and regardless of how Gail felt about Becky, she thought it would have been really neat for the brothers to have kids who could have grown up together. But it didn't seem to be in the cards.

They were all laughing at Dean's dance performance. He was really hamming it up now, going to town, wiggling his rear end in exaggerated movements. Then all too soon the music ended, and the figurine stopped dancing, so Dean did, too. Angela stretched and yawned, smiling happily at her Uncle Dean.

He was pointing his finger at all the adults. "What you just saw never leaves this room," Dean warned them.

"Oh, so I should delete the video I just put on YouTube?" Sam wisecracked.

Angela yawned again, and she got under the covers, pulling Poochie and Ralph in close beside her. "I love all of my Guardians," she told the group. "Can you tuck us in, please?"

The adults all moved forward for hugs and kisses, and after the last one was received from her father, Angela promptly fell asleep. They all exited the room quietly.

"Hey, 'Galoot'," Gail said to Dean as they moved on down the hall. "I've never seen a tree who could move like that. Come here, and give me some maple syrup." She pointed to her cheek, and Dean gave her a hug and a kiss. She hugged and kissed all the men, and then she said, "Out of all the guys I'd love to be on a starship with, having space adventures, I'd pick you guys, every time." Then she laughed softly. "As long as I didn't have to paint my body green." She linked arms with Cas and Sam. "Come on, fellas. Gailora's thirsty."

Becky had been trying to think of stuff to say to Liz and Gabriel this whole time, because she'd wanted to keep her eye on Gabriel. But the potion didn't seem to be affecting him at all. Was it because he was an Archangel, maybe?

Then the group came back from Story Time, and all three Angels had one more glass of wine each. Cas would normally not have had a second, but he was so pleased about how well Story Time had gone that he thought that he would indulge.

Liz abstained, though. In fact, she said she thought she should go back to Heaven in a minute. She had some papers to grade.

"No fair," Gabriel said, and incredibly, he was pouting. "You never want to play with us."

Liz looked at him incredulously. What the hell? Did he think he was being funny with this? "Uh...I love kids, but I'd like to have some adult conversation, right now," she said dryly.

Another voice piped up: "Yeah, Gabriel. What SHE said."

They all looked at Cas. Had they been hearing things? Had that been Cas's voice, saying that?

"Cas...has...a...girlfriend," Gabriel said in a singsong voice. He laughed, covering his mouth with his hands. "Castiel and Gail, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G." Then he looked at Gail. "Did you know your name rhymes with jail? Snail? Pail?"

Gail's lower lip trembled, and she burst into tears. "You're mean!" she exclaimed. She hit Cas on his arm with her open hand, much like a child will when they're trying to get someone's attention. "Caaaas!" she whined. "He's being mean to me!"

"You're not 'apposed to pick on girls," Cas said to Gabriel. "Everybody knows that."

"Cas has a girlfriend," Gabriel sang out again.

"So what? So do you!" Cas said brattily. Then he stuck his tongue out at Gabriel.

Becky was wide-eyed. What the hell was this? The Angels were supposed to be older, not younger. What had she done?

Predictably, Dean thought that this was hilarious; although he knew that there was obviously something wrong with the Angels, seeing Cas like this was just so damn funny.

"There's got to be some kind of spell on them," Sam said. He rose from his chair, looking around suspiciously. "They were fine a couple of minutes ago." He looked at Liz with narrowed eyes. "Was Gabriel acting like that before we came out of the house?"

"No," she said, bewildered.

Dean grabbed the bottle of wine they'd been drinking from, sniffing at it suspiciously. Fortunately for Becky, the potion was odourless. But, still...it was the only common denominator. Maybe they were just drunk? But Dean realized how ridiculous that sounded as soon as he'd thought it. Cas could drink much more than he had tonight and not even be close to being drunk, and Gabe was an Archangel, with a reputation for drinking and carousing. And Gail was no slouch, either. So, no. That couldn't be it.

"It's gotta be some kind of spell," Dean said, echoing Sam's statement. Now Gabriel was making kissy-face sounds at Cas and Gail, and Dean rolled his eyes. Like normal Gabriel wasn't annoying enough.

"Do you have any idea what this could be?" Frank asked Sam, but the younger Winchester was shaking his head. "I've never seen anything like this before," Sam remarked.

"Despite the obvious hilariousness of it all, I guess we'd better call Bobby," Dean said, taking out his cell phone. "Maybe he'll know what to do." He pushed the Speed Dial for Bobby's number. "Sammy, can you get this on video? You know, for science?" he said, smirking.

"Send me a copy of whatever you record," Frank said quickly. "You know, for blackmail."

Bobby popped down immediately, and he stared open-mouthed as Gail said to Gabriel, "You're funny-looking," and Gabe retorted, "Oh, yeah? I know you are, but what am I?" Then Cas said, "Stop fighting, you guys. We're gonna get in trouble."

"What in Sam Hill is going ON, here?" Bobby said, astonished.

"We were hoping YOU could tell US," Sam said to him. "Have you ever seen anything like this before?"

"No," Bobby said, mystified.

"See? God's here, now. I told'ja you would get us in trouble," Cas said to Gabriel. He looked at Bobby. "HE started it," Cas added, pointing at Gabriel.

Bobby didn't know if he should be amused, or alarmed. He asked the others to describe what had happened, and his forehead wrinkled. "It definitely sounds like some kind of a spell, but I've never seen anything like it before." He looked at the Angels again. Now they were making funny faces at each other, and Bobby had to resist the urge to laugh. "I'll take Spanky, Darla and Alfalfa here over to the bunker," he said dryly. "Liz, if you could bring Sam and Dean..." He looked at Becky. "Is Brian in the house?"

"Yeah, he's asleep," Becky said in a small voice. She was a little bit scared of what she'd done. Bobby did NOT look happy. "I should probably get him home."

"OK," Bobby said. "Come with me, then. I'll be right back," he told the others. "Think you can babysit the Little Rascals here for a minute?"

Frank smacked himself on the forehead. "THAT'S who I was trying to think of!" he exclaimed. "Hey, too bad Henri wasn't here. Then, we could have a Buckwheat."

Bobby opened his mouth, then closed it again. He'd been considering what to say, but he'd better not say much of anything, because Cas was sticking his tongue out at Gabriel again, Gabriel was still making funny faces, and Gail was swinging her legs back and forth, giggling at the two of them. If Bobby opened his mouth right now, he was going to laugh, and that wouldn't be very nice, would it?

Cas looked at Gail now. "I like you," he said to her shyly. "Do you like me?"

Gabriel grabbed a plastic cup from the picnic table and pegged it at the side of Cas's head, hard. "Owwww!" Cas yelled, rubbing the spot where it had hit him.

"That's it! You're in time out," Liz admonished Gabriel, and the Archangel hung his head. "Sor-ry," he said sheepishly.

"I think he gave me a boo-boo," Cas said to Bobby, and that was it. "Excuse me a second," Bobby said hastily. He popped into the house, and an instant later, they could hear him braying with laughter.

"You're in trouble, now," Gail said sassily to Gabriel. "I'm telling on you."

"Tattle-tale," he said to her, pouting.

Bobby was back a minute later, wiping his eyes with his hands. "All right, Becky, let's go," he said briskly. Then he looked at Sam and Dean. "Liz might as well take you guys to the bunker now, so you can get started looking in those books for a cure. I'll take Becky and Brian home, and then I'll zap the Impala back to the bunker." His beard twitched again. "You got this, Frank?" he said, gesturing to the Angels.

"Well, they're a handful, but I'll try my best," Frank replied with a grin.

"Hey, you guys, are we too late for the party?" Rob said, out of the blue. He came outside from the house. "Eric's parking the car. Oh, hey, Gramps. How're you doing?"

"Uhhh, fine, but we're kinda in the middle of something, here," Bobby replied. He opened his mouth again, but then he realized that he had no idea how to describe what they were currently in the middle OF. So he said, "Come on, dear," and Becky followed him into the house just as Eric was coming out.

"How's it going, you guys?" Eric said, and he nodded in Gabriel's direction. "Hey, Uncle Gabe." Eric sat down beside the Archangel. "Can you pass me a couple of beers from that cooler under the table?"

"I'm not allowed to touch alcohol," Gabriel said in a subdued voice. "I'm not old enough, and I'm already in trouble."

Eric looked at him, nonplussed. Gabriel was weird sometimes, and sometimes, he cracked jokes that only he seemed to think were funny. But Eric didn't get it.

"Serves you right for calling me a tattle-tale," Gail said to Gabriel.

"You ARE a tattle-tale, and so is your boyfriend, Cas," Gabriel retorted. "Cas is an ass. Cas-is-an-ass, Cas-is-an-ass," he started to sing.

"Yeah, well...you're smelly," Cas said, making a face. Dean was gonna pee himself in a minute. Liz was hovering uncertainly. A teeny-tiny part of her was amused by the show, as well. But they'd better get to the bunker and get working on the cure, because this was going to get really old, really fast. She grabbed Dean and Sam by the arm. "Let's go, fellas," she said quickly, and then she popped them out without another word.

"Uhhh...Dad? What's going on, here?" Rob said uneasily. Frank filled the young men in on what they knew, which wasn't a whole lot. He was still amused, but Frank was starting to get worried now, too. He looked at the bottle of wine that the Angels had been drinking from. That had to be it. But how the hell could somebody have gotten a potion into a sealed bottle that had been in his fridge? Unless...Becky had brought it out here from the kitchen, hadn't she? Had it been sealed when Cas had poured it? Frank hadn't been paying attention. But Becky was gone now, and there was no sense asking Cas at the moment. Currently, his brother-in-law had the mentality of a little boy. Cas was sitting beside Gail, and he was stealing glances at her, but when she looked his way, he would turn his head as if he hadn't been looking at her. Frank decided to find it cute, for now. As long as they could find a cure soon.

"Can you stay here with your sister?" Frank asked Rob and Eric. "I want to go to the bunker and make sure these guys are all right."

"Go ahead, Dad. We'll hold down the fort here," Eric replied, and then he smiled slyly. "All we ask for as repayment is a copy of whatever video you guys took of whatever this is."

Frank laughed. "Deal." When Bobby came back to get them a minute or so later, Frank grabbed the bottle of wine the Angels had been drinking from, and Bobby winked them all to the bunker.

Rob and Eric stared at each other for a minute. Okay, THAT had been weird. Even for their family. "Grab me a beer?" Rob asked his brother.

"I can't. I'm not allowed to touch alcohol," Eric said in a little-boy voice, imitating Gabriel.

"Oh, yeah? Well...you're smelly," Rob retorted, imitating his Uncle Cas.

Then the young men burst into laughter, as Eric moved over to the cooler.

They'd all been at the bunker for a while, and the five of them were reaching the end of their rope, and the end of their patience. Bobby, Sam, Dean, Liz and Frank had all been looking through the books in the library, and Sam had double-checked online. But they could find nothing about...what would you call it, exactly? Dean had asked the others. A regression spell?

In any event, as Liz had predicted, what had once been hilarious was now becoming at best annoying, and at its worst, very concerning. The Angels who Bobby had dubbed the Little Rascals had been bored to distraction when they'd gotten to the bunker. The "adults" were hitting the books and not paying any attention to them. So, after being poked by Gabriel's finger for about the millionth time, Sam had let out an exasperated breath and taken them all over to the living room area, telling them to sit on the couch and watch TV quietly while the grownups were working.

The three of them had found and agreed on that cartoon Aladdin movie, and they were loving it. "I could be as funny as that genie guy," Gabriel was bragging, with a big grin on his face.

"I'll bet I could fly to Mars on that magic carpet," Cas said, stretching his arms out at his sides to simulate flying. He looked shyly at Gail. "You could come with me, if you want."

So the TV-as-babysitter thing had worked for a while, but eventually, the situation deteriorated. "Ewww! Stop touching me!" Gail berated Gabriel.

"I'm not touching you," he protested, but he was sticking his poking finger in her face, now.

Gail shrank back from Gabriel and against a smiling Cas, who may currently have the mentality of a little boy, but still, he knew what he liked. "Ewwww! Stop touching meeee!" Gail wailed, and Dean got up abruptly from the dining room table. "OK, that's it," he said irascibly. "Pipe down in there!"

Everything was quiet for a moment, and Dean looked mollified. But then, as he started to sit back down, the squabbling started again. "Don't make me come in there, 'cause you won't like what happens if I do!" Dean shouted.

Liz and Frank looked at each other, and then they burst into laughter. "You should hear how you sound!" Liz said to Dean.

"If those three were in the back seat of the Impala, he'd be threatening to 'turn this car around'," Bobby said absently, over the pages of a book on witchcraft. Everyone fell silent, and he looked up. "What? I'm not allowed to make jokes, too?" Then he sighed, sitting back in his chair. "I've got nothing. Zilch. Nada. None of these books have anything like we're seeing here."

"I hate to say this, Sam, but Becky was the one who gave Cas that bottle of wine," Frank said, nodding towards Exhibit A. He'd brought it along and placed it further down the table, just in case...in case what? He really didn't know. Too bad the potion didn't knock a few years off physically, instead of just emotionally. Then maybe Frank could have a tipple, and then maybe his knees wouldn't be so sore when he stood up in the morning.

"So...what? What's your point, Frank?" Sam said, frowning. "You think she dosed them, or something?"

Frank shrugged. "I'm just trying to figure out what happened, that's all."

"Even if it was the wine, Becky wouldn't know how to do a spell like that," Sam protested. He gestured to all the books. "And, as of now, we don't have any evidence that such a spell even exists."

Gail came running into the room like Angela would, Frank noted with faint amusement. She went straight to Bobby, looking at him with wide eyes. "What is it, dear?" he said, trying to keep a straight face.

"They're playing swords, and I don't like violence," Gail replied matter-of-factly.

The men looked at each other, and then they bolted from their chairs as Gail looked at Liz. "Gabriel is a big poopyhead," Gail told her friend, and Liz smiled. Yes, he was, sometimes, she thought.

Sam got to the living room first, and he breathed a sigh of relief. Cas and Gabriel were playing swords, all right, but they just had rolled-up magazines in their hands, thrusting at and parrying with each other. Whew. For a minute there, they'd been afraid...

Bobby was thinking along those same lines. "Cas, Gabriel, come here for a second," God said authoritatively, and the Angels obediently walked over to where he and the other men were standing.

"Are we in trouble again?" Gabriel wanted to know. "We were only playing."

"No, we just wanna check something. Put your arms up in the air. You too, Cas," Bobby said. The Angels did as they were told, and Bobby nodded to Dean. "Now, stand still," Bobby instructed them, and he began to frisk Gabriel. Dean followed suit, with Cas. It was a good idea, Frank thought. If either man had an Angel blade on him, playtime might not turn out to be very much fun.

Cas giggled, doubling over. "That tickles," he told Dean, who was fighting to keep a straight face. Castiel, the warrior Angel, giggling. Now Dean could truly say he'd seen it all. He looked at Bobby. "He's clean," Bobby said about Gabriel. "So is Mister Gigglepants, here," Dean responded.

"'Mister Gigglepants'?" Frank said, laughing. He hadn't laughed this much in ages. There had been quite a few times after Jody died, and even before that, when he swore he would never be able to laugh at anything, ever again. He should give whoever had done this a medal, in a way. "I dare you to call him that when he's back to normal," Frank challenged Dean.

But Bobby was sighing again. "Look, guys. I hate to tell ya this, but I think we're gonna have to get some expert help on this," he told them.

Fortunately, Bobby knew what the ingredients were for the summoning spell, because Gabriel had known what they were as soon as he'd seen them, without Crowley having had to tell him. But there was only one problem, of course. To top the spell off, there were supposed to be five drops of Crowley's blood, and five drops of Gail's.

He sighed heavily. "I'll leave it up to you guys to decide who's gonna assemble the ingredients, and who's gonna have to be the meanie who gets to take the blood from little Shirley Temple over there." Bobby gestured to Gail, who was attempting to sing the song from the Aladdin movie for an audience of two man/boy Angels, who were sitting cross-legged on the floor, watching her intently.

"Do you want some backup?" Dean asked Bobby, who levelled him with a withering glare. "I'm God, Boy. I think I can handle it," he said dryly. "Just make sure you have everything ready to go when I get back."

He disappeared, and reappeared at the crossroads a moment later.

"A Summit meeting?" Crowley said, a moment after Bobby thought his name. God didn't need to resort to any other method. They'd had that Hotline in his office in Heaven, but that had just been for convenience. Neither Cas nor Bobby had bothered replacing it after Patricia'd had it taken out. Both men preferred face-to-face dealings with the King of Hell.

"Should I bring along a stenographer to take notes?" Crowley said to Bobby pleasantly. "I've got some really cute ones in the typing pool. And the best part is, because they're low-ranking Demons, you never have to worry about them crying and whining, making sexual harassment allegations."

"I don't have the time right now to tell you everything that's wrong with what you just said," Bobby said sarcastically. "I'll have Gail drop by and do that later." He took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. "I need five drops of your blood."

Crowley was amused. "Oh, you do, do you?" he said. "Sure. No problem. Would you like Bigfoot to deliver it, or just the winged pigs it would take for me to say yes to that request?"

Bobby let out another breath. He'd known that this was going to be the reaction. But he didn't see a choice. "I would consider it a personal favour," he said reluctantly.

The King's eyes glittered. "A personal favour? For God? Well, why didn't you just say so? Those are worth - what would you say - at least ten favours in return, wouldn't you think?"

"Why don't we just burn that bridge when we get to it?" Bobby said wearily.

"What do you want it for?" Crowley inquired.

"Nothing that'll affect you adversely," Bobby replied. "You have my word."

Crowley nodded. Whatever else he might feel about the God Squad, he knew that Bobby Singer's word was his bond. Out of all the Gods he had dealt with, Crowley much preferred Bobby's straight-shooting style. Still, he couldn't appear too easy. So he stood looking at Bobby speculatively for another moment. Bobby just stared at Crowley calmly. This was another reason why the King preferred to deal with him. Bobby wasn't scared of or intimidated by Crowley, but neither did he lord it over Crowley that he was the Almighty, and Crowley wasn't. Pun definitely intended. And, as an added bonus, a blade wasn't being waved in his face every time he uttered a syllable.

Crowley snapped his fingers, and a blade appeared in his hand. He pricked his finger and bled a few drops into a vial that suddenly appeared in his other hand, then capped it and gave it to Bobby. "Say hello to my dear mother," the King said calmly. "Oh, and if the two of you are going to get a divorce, let me know. I'll send a fruit basket. And I definitely vote for your side in the custody battle." He snapped his fingers again, and disappeared.

Bobby shook his head slowly. Well, that had sure been easier than he'd thought it was going to be. Maybe Crowley was hoping that one of them would kill Rowena once they'd summoned her. His lack of curiosity was somewhat curious in and of itself, but Bobby was glad that they hadn't had to have that conversation.

When Bobby got back to the bunker, he was glad to see that they had everything all ready to go. Frank held up the vial with Gail's blood in it. "Don't ask how I got this," he told their friend. "Suffice to say that it involved a lot of wriggling, high-pitched wailing, and the full strength of four adults."

"And one bruised ankle, where Cas kicked me, hard," Sam said, wincing.

"Where ARE the Katzenjammer Kids?" Bobby asked, looking around.

"I thought we should separate them, so Gabriel's in the living room watching TV, Gail's in the kitchen having a chocolate milkshake with a big bandage on her finger, and Cas is in his and Gail's old room on a time out, for kicking Sam," Liz informed Bobby.

Bobby's beard twitched briefly. "OK. I'm gonna go out back and summon Rowena. Then she and I are gonna have a little chat. I think it's better if we don't gang up on her all at once. I'm pretty sure I can persuade her to help us. If she can, that is. But if anybody'll know about this spell, it'll be her."

He popped outside with the bowl of ingredients and the blood vials. Bobby stood there for a minute, taking a deep breath. He hadn't seen Rowena in a long time. But he was encouraged by the fact that she had recently assisted the Angels by taking the cloaking spell off of Raguel. He combined the ingredients and lit the match.

A few moments later, Rowena stood in front of Bobby in the back yard of the bunker, and she was smiling. "It's good to see you, Bobby," she said. She had been extremely upset when she had started to feel the tingle that had announced the onset of the summoning spell. What did they want from her NOW? Why couldn't they just leave her be? But now that she'd seen who it was who had called her here, Rowena couldn't stay angry.

Unbeknownst to Bobby, because Cas had not shared Chuck's letter containing the Prophecies with him any more than he'd shared it with Gail, this was another of the things that Chuck had seen in his visions, now come true.

Despite everything that had happened between Rowena and his family, Bobby's expression softened when he saw her. There was just something about her that made him feel nostalgic for the old days, when Bobby had been in his prime as a human man, large and in charge of the Hunters' network and tinkering with old cars in the scrapyard. Life had been far from perfect, but it hadn't been half bad, either. Of course, he supposed he didn't have much to complain about in his current situation. Now he ran the show in Heaven instead, he still got to hang around with the boys from time to time, and he sure as hell didn't have to worry about aching limbs or hangovers. And if his romantic life was non-existent now, well, that was just the way it went.

"I need to ask you for a favour, Ro," Bobby said softly.

He brought Rowena into the bunker, and as she came into the library area, the witch stared at the brothers impassively. She didn't know Liz, so the red-haired witch looked at the tall blonde Angel with some interest. And then she stopped short, looking up at Frank. There was a tense moment as the two sized each other up. The animosity between them dated back to the time that Frank had been a Knight of Hell, at Crowley's right hand, and Rowena had been plotting against her son. Then, the witch hadn't helped matters years later, when she'd sent that teddy bear with the hex bag in it to Frank's house. He'd never found out what that thing would have done to them because it had been destroyed shortly after it had arrived, but Frank didn't care. They had been planning to put that bear in Angela's nursery. In his newborn daughter's nursery.

Rowena looked up at Frank. He was heavier now, and his face was more wrinkled. Before Bobby had brought her inside, he had informed her of Frank's loss, and he'd asked Rowena to be decent about it. She'd been a little taken aback by that, but then the witch had realized that she'd had very little to do with any of them in recent years, nor they with her. They had no way of knowing that she'd been sincere in her resolve to change. Maybe the expression "turning over a new leaf" was going a little overboard, but Rowena had realized that it was pointless to run around concocting plots and schemes that had no purpose. When Raguel had shown her how she might end up if the Book of Life was used in a certain way, that had given Rowena a bit of a wake-up call. She planned on living a long, long time, but she couldn't keep on poking the hornet's nest or else her existence was going to be a miserable one, filled with bitterness and regret. She had thought for a while that revenge was the answer, but when she had decided to just let that go, life had suddenly been much more enjoyable.

"I'm sorry for your loss," Rowena said to Frank now, and they all exchanged astonished glances.

"Thanks," Frank said tersely. But that had still been the most civilized exchange the two of them had ever had.

Bobby winked Cas, Gail and Gabriel to the library area, and Rowena was absolutely gobsmacked at the way they were behaving. And more than a little amused, as well. Gabriel was excitedly telling the other two about a magic show he had seen on TV. Gail had brought her milkshake with her, announcing she wanted to share, and she'd given both Cas and Gabriel sips from her cup. Cas was looking at her hand, and it looked like he was trying to work up the courage to take it in his. For the moment, the three of them were back to being cute. Maybe the separation had worked. It was certainly a lot more peaceful when the three of them were getting along.

"So? Can you fix them?" Bobby asked Rowena.

"I don't know," she answered honestly. "I've never seen this before. It looks like an Aging spell, gone wrong."

"An Aging spell?" Sam exclaimed. "Is there such a thing?"

"Yes, of course there is, Samuel. I should know. I perfected it, myself. Whoever cast this spell on the Angels clearly has no idea what they're doing. Though I must say, the results are fascinating. Are you sure we can't just leave them like this? They're simply adorable."

Cas was going for it. His hand was moving toward Gail's. She had been watching Gabriel as he tried to figure out the disappearing act he'd just seen on TV. He was waving his hand over the milkshake cup, saying "Abra cadabra", but it wasn't working. Gail giggled, and she looked at Cas to see if he was watching the magic show. She saw his hand moving slowly and bashfully towards hers, and Cas looked terrified when he saw that she had noticed. But then Gail took his hand in hers, and Cas's face lit up like a hundred Christmas trees.

"Look at the wee things," Rowena said, smirking. "That's the best-behaved I've ever seen them."

"OK, Ro, we've all had our fun," Bobby said, sighing wearily. "But, I need them back. Can ya reverse the spell, or not?"

She picked up the bottle of wine that Frank had brought from the house. "Is this what they drank?" When the others confirmed that it was, she gave it a sniff. Then she upended the bottle to her own lips and took a sip. Liz gasped, but Rowena smiled at the Angel indulgently. "I'm over three hundred years old, dearie. The most a couple of wee sips of that would do to ME would be to remove a laugh-line or two. If I had any. Which I don't." She took another small sip, swished the liquid around in her mouth, and then nodded. "Aye. I can mix up a cure. I'll just need a few basic ingredients, if you have them handy."

She told Sam and Dean what was required. They had everything on hand except for a fairy's tear, so Bobby winked himself over to their local occult shop and lifted one from their back room shelves. He guessed he wasn't setting a very good example, Bobby thought wryly, stealing from people the Hunters did business with. But this was an emergency, and fairies' tears were a son of a bitch to obtain.

Rowena mixed up the potion, and when it was ready, she remarked, "Now, I have to warn you: this will not taste very pleasant. And there is only enough for a few sips each, so we have to make sure they drink it, and not spit it out." She made a face. "Fergus used to spit out the goat's milk I got from one of the local farmers. Said it tasted like warm piss." She rolled her eyes. "Not that he was wrong, but still..."

Frank had to avert his face, because he was picturing Crowley like the Angels were now, pouting and calling Gabriel "smelly". Man, how he would have loved to have put the King of Hell in a time out, in the storage room where the Devil's Trap was.

But Sam had a solution for the dilemma about the taste of the potion. "Who wants more milkshakes?" he said to the Angels.

"Yayyyy!" Gail cheered, hopping off her chair.

"I'll race you," Cas said, nudging Gabriel.

"You're gonna lose!" Gabe said gleefully, and he started jostling with Cas.

"Ladies first!" Gail said, pushing both of them out of the way. Frank snickered as his adult sister, her husband the warrior, and an Archangel of the Lord all ran excitedly down the hall to get their chocolate milkshakes.

The cure had worked fairly quickly. By the time the Angels had reached the bottom of their cups, sucking loudly on the straws, they started to come around.

"Uh...what just happened?" Gabriel asked Sam warily.

"What do you remember?" Sam countered with.

Gabe looked curiously at his cup, then put it down on the table. "We were at the Frankster's place, drinking wine."

"So you don't remember anything about..." Dean started to say, and then he started to grin as Cas said, "What are you talking about? Why are we here, at the bunker?"

"And why am I drinking a chocolate milkshake?" Gail added, puzzled.

As the Winchesters were in the kitchen, pondering how much or how little they wanted to tell the Angels about their little adventure, or if they should just save the video Dean had surreptitiously shot for a special occasion, Bobby, Liz, Frank and Rowena were talking in the library area. After a bit of discussion, the brothers had decided that it might be a bit overwhelming for the Angels, who had still basically been children when they'd gone into the kitchen, to be stared at by all those people. So the four others had agreed to wait out in the library while the brothers administered the cure.

Liz was eyeing Rowena. She knew that the witch had been Gail's mother back in the Old World, and she also knew that there was no love lost between Rowena and Frank. They all had a bit of a strange history with Rowena, and Liz couldn't quite figure the woman out. She'd always thought that Rowena was evil. Yet, here she was, helping her so-called enemies so soon after she had helped the Angels by taking the cloaking spell off of Raguel. And the way she was looking at Bobby was interesting, too. Gail had told Liz in confidence that the two of them used to have "a thing", years ago.

"Crisis over," Sam announced. He and Dean emerged from the hallway with three slightly puzzled Angels trailing behind. The brothers had given them a thumbnail sketch of what had just transpired, making sure to tell them that Rowena was here, and that she had made the antidote.

"Thank you for helping us," Gail said to the redheaded witch.

Rowena was a wee bit surprised, to say the least. She looked at the three of them, waiting for a nasty comment, or a threat. But, none was forthcoming. She started to smile. Maybe they were turning the corner, as far as trusting her went. Maybe she and her daughter could have a civil relationship, going forward.

And that was when Frank slapped the handcuffs on her.

As soon as Rowena's name had been bandied about, the wheels in Frank's head had started to turn. Despite his and Jody's pact to leave things be, Frank had honestly thought that his wife would be in the Garden, waiting to ascend. After all, where the hell else would she have gone? No way would Jody have gone to Hell, or to Purgatory. No way. And as far as he knew, Limbo was only used by Death as a kind of parking lot, while he was deciding where to put somebody. But, what would there be to decide, in Jody's case?

But when Bobby had announced that Jody had been nowhere to be found in the Garden, Frank had started to panic a bit. And then, he had started to get angry.

He had called Liz's office number in Heaven, and when she'd answered, Frank had told her to find Gail, and ask Frank's sister to come see him at the house, and to come alone.

When she had, Frank had asked her if there was a way they could find out if Jody had gone to the Netherworld. Her forehead had wrinkled, and she'd said that she didn't think there was. Only Death would know for sure. But why wasn't Frank asking Cas about this?

There were a couple of reasons, Frank had told his sister. One was that he was under the impression that Cas wasn't exactly Death's favourite individual. Frank knew how Cas got, sometimes. He didn't want to rile Cas up by asking him about that.

Gail said that she guessed she could understand that, and what was the other reason?

Then Frank had told her what he really had in mind, and Gail had been floored. Absolutely floored. But, who was she to tell him he couldn't do it? Or, more to the point, who was she to tell him he SHOULDN'T do it? She'd done it once herself, and she would have done it a second time, too, if she'd just been able to find the damn book in the spot where it was supposed to have been. Oh, and to somehow come up with her dead husband's bones, which no longer existed. But Rowena's spell book was gone, and none of them knew where it was now. She'd reminded Frank of that fact.

So Gail had been under the impression that Frank had given up on the idea of doing the revival spell, just as she'd had to do when she had been frantically trying to find it to revive Cas, when he had died in Egypt. But as her brother put the cuffs on Rowena now, Gail got it. He had just been biding his time. They may not be blood relations, but she and Frank were brother and sister, all right. Just like Gail had refused to let a little thing like a missing spell book stand in her way when it came to reviving Cas, apparently, Frank wasn't going to let that deter him, either. She had to hand it to him; in a way, this was a stroke of brilliance.

But, in another way, Gail wondered if her brother might not have been better off just talking to Rowena first, rather than just slapping those handcuffs on her like that. Rowena's eyes flashed in anger, and then they narrowed.

"What are you doing?" she hissed, looking around the room at all of them. "I came here to help you, and I did!"

"Yeah, and then you were going to leave," Frank said to her. "I couldn't let that happen. Not until you write down the revival spell for me, and tell me how to do it."

Everybody was staring incredulously at Frank now, except for Gail, who was trying not to let on that she'd already kind of known. After her private conversation with Frank, Gail had thought that the subject was closed, so she had seen no reason to bring it up to Cas.

"What?!" Rowena sputtered. She shook the manacles in anger and frustration. "Why don't you just march over there to those shelves, and look it up yourself?"

"The book went missing from here a while back, and we don't know where it is," Sam replied.

Rowena was open-mouthed. "Are you telling me that my precious spells, my life's work..." She was so overcome with emotion that she had to collect herself for a moment. Then she looked angrily at Bobby. "That was a personal gift, from me to you."

"I know," Bobby said uncomfortably. "But at the time I opened it, Xavier was looking for any excuse to lynch me, or Cas, so I couldn't be seen with something like that."

"What you mean is that you couldn't have been seen with something like ME," Rowena said bitterly.

"Awww, now, Ro..." Bobby said uneasily. But he didn't correct her, either.

"Look, I'm not trying to piss you off," Frank said to the witch. "If I thought you would have helped me voluntarily, I might have done this differently. But you've always hated me. I couldn't afford to take that chance."

"What makes you think I'll help you NOW?" Rowena exclaimed indignantly. "A slave, in chains? Why SHOULD I help you? I feel nothing for you, only contempt! I saw what type of individual you became when you were at my son's right hand. I don't owe any of you anything. And even if I were inclined to help you, you would just kill me afterwards, wouldn't you? Most of you in this room have threatened to kill me numerous times, haven't you? Even my own daughter killed me, years ago!" Rowena let out a frustrated breath. "Just when I thought I could extend the olive branch," she said aloud, but it was as if she was talking to herself now. "Just when I thought that I was finally able to be regarded as a person with actual feelings, and not just some...witch, who is to be hated, and vilified..." She would not cry. She would not give them the satisfaction.

Rowena's eyes blazed as she looked at Gail. "You know, I really thought that you, of all people, would understand. Were you not burned at the stake by the hand of my son, simply because you fell in love? Were you not sentenced to death for witchcraft, because you were trying to hold onto that love? Don't you see that if we don't stand up for ourselves, this kind of thing is going to keep on happening, time and time again?" She looked up at Frank defiantly. "Set me free."

"I need the spell, first," he insisted stubbornly.

Rowena looked at Gail again, and her expression was furious. "I am your mother, and this man is no blood relation to you," she said to Gail. "None whatsoever. How would you feel if it was YOU who was shackled? What would YOU do?"

Gail's lips tightened, but she said, "Frank raised me all those years, and kept me safe. And the fact that he did all that for me when it turns out that we weren't even related, and the fact that he KNEW we weren't...That will always make me choose him. Always. Maybe if you hadn't plotted and schemed against me and my family for all those years...and, by the way, how DARE you appeal to me on the basis that we've both been oppressed? I've been oppressed plenty, but I never sent anybody a teddy bear with a cursed object in it that was meant to harm a little baby!"

"Do you know what was in that bag? Potpourri!" Rowena blurted out. "That was all! I admit that I thought about cursing you and your family, Frank. Look at the history we have. To me, you were just one more man who was looking to subjugate me. I was the King of Hell's own mother, but it was you who he wanted at his right hand. It was the 'Old Boys' Club'. Just like everywhere. No matter where I went, no matter what the era, it was always the same. I had so much to offer, but because I had breasts and a vagina, I was always pushed aside. Marginalized. Ill-used. Fergus. Lucifer. Raguel. Vincent. And, you lot. You were the only one who showed me any sort of human affection, Bobby. But, you're quite right. You're God now, and I'm just a wicked witch." She glared up at Frank again. "Why should I help you get your love back? Where's MY love? Everyone was so ready to take you back from Hell and welcome you with open arms, despite all the horrible things you'd done. And, I'll admit, you do appear to have turned yourself around. But then why is it that when I try to do the same thing, no one will even give me the benefit of the doubt? I just cured three very powerful Angels, any one of whom could kill me without batting an eye, and yet, you all look at me as if I were a disease. Now release me, immediately!"

Suddenly, they were all standing in the storeroom, where the Devil's Trap chair was. Rowena was handcuffed to the chair, and she screamed and stamped her feet in a frustrated rage. "Why are you doing this to me?" she asked them. "On second thought, you know what? It doesn't even matter. You had better kill me now, because if you don't, you will regret it. I'll curse you all so badly you'll wish that you had heeded my warning."

"Calm down, Ro," Bobby said, frowning deeply. "We just need to talk for a minute, in private."

He popped them all back out into the library area. "What are ya doing, Frank?" he asked Gail's brother.

"What the hell do you think?" Frank retorted. "We're going to hold her here until she agrees to give us the revival spell, we'll use it, and then as soon as we get Jody back, we'll let her go. I'm not suggesting we actually kill her."

"You're not?" Bobby said skeptically.

"No, I'm not," Frank said earnestly. He sighed. "Look, Bobby. I don't know if I believe that 'potpourri' stuff or not. But I have to admit, a couple of the things she said hit home to me. I didn't used to be a very nice individual back then, to say the least. So I shouldn't be going around telling anybody they can't change, if they're really sincere about it. I'll tell you what, Bobby. Let me go in there and talk to her for a minute, human being to human being. I realize now that I shouldn't have been so heavy-handed. I just want to see if I can persuade her to help me. Please, Bobby. I can't stand it without Jody. We need her back. I need her back. We got Dean back the same way, didn't we? We could be a family again, Bobby. Please. Angela asks me every night where her Mommy is. Why isn't she an Angel, like her Auntie Gail, and her Uncle Cas? Like YOU?"

Bobby's stomach clenched. That poor little girl. If there was a chance that Rowena could help them get Jody back, shouldn't they explore that? If she would help them willingly, without anybody getting hurt, why would Bobby want to stand in the way of that? He missed Jody, too.

Bobby sighed. "OK, Frank. Go talk to her. But let me give you a free piece of advice: don't threaten her. Just talk. She'll respond way better that way. Oh, and Frank?"

"Yeah, Bobby?" Gail's brother said.

"Raise your arms."

Patricia had decided to take a chance once more. Hopefully, the red file would be back in its rightful place by now. Bobby had always been a fairly efficient administrator, and Jody's funeral had been a couple of months ago.

She popped into the executive wing, near where Gail and Castiel's offices were. The area was deserted now, as she had suspected that it would be. But it was a good vantage point from where to check the reception area for the High Office. She was pleased to see that Laurel wasn't at her desk. Patricia hoped that meant that Laurel was getting on with things, now that Chuck was gone. She moved quickly over to the cabinet where the red files were kept and put her hand on the security panel. It opened up, right away. Either no one knew that anyone who had held the High Office could access the cabinet, or they had just decided to leave the system in place. The panel swung open, and she sifted through the files that were there. It wasn't here! Unbelievable. It still wasn't here. Patricia let out a frustrated breath. Raguel had been concerned that Castiel might have the file, but Patricia didn't think he did. If he had it, the Angels would have changed the status quo by now. Patricia was sure of it. Castiel had done so many terrible things in his past. He'd made so many mistakes. There was no way he would be able to resist.

"Patricia?!" Laurel exclaimed. "What are YOU doing here?"

Everyone was exchanging nervous glances, but Bobby told Frank that he would give him his chance. He had frisked Gail's brother from head to toe, just to be on the safe side. Frank was unarmed. So he was in the storeroom talking to Rowena right now, and the fifteen-minute limit that Bobby had given him was almost up.

Gail was feeling extremely ambivalent right now. Although she was firmly in her brother's corner, she realized that Rowena had made some valid points, as well. Gail could certainly relate to the feeling of being marginalized simply because she was a female. It had taken her quite some time to wade through the Old Boys' Club in Heaven, and even once they'd gotten rid of the Upper Echelon, she had still had to deal with others, who didn't seem to think she had the right to be where she was right now. Even some of her peers, like the Heavenly Hostesses, had felt that way.

But womens' rights aside, there was one other thing that was especially bothering Gail about this situation. Her brother had lied to Bobby. Out-and-out lied. Angela didn't ask where her mother was, or why Jody wasn't an Angel. Gail knew she didn't. Frank had deliberately manipulated Bobby by playing on his emotions, and his love for his de facto granddaughter. That wasn't like Frank. But then again, this was uncharted territory for them, and Gail knew from first-hand experience that losing the love of your life could cause you to say and do crazy things. She herself had voluntarily gone to Hell to try to convince Crowley to bring Cas back, and if that wasn't Crazy Town, she didn't know what was. At least Frank wasn't doing something like THAT.

Bobby sighed heavily. Frank's fifteen minutes were up, and there was no sense in prolonging things. If Rowena had been inclined to help them, she would have said so by now. But, as bad as Frank and the rest of them wanted Jody back, as bad as Bobby himself wanted her back, he was not going to be a party to holding Rowena prisoner, or worse, to force her cooperation.

But just as Bobby was about to wink himself over to the storeroom, Frank emerged from the hallway, and Rowena was with him.

"We've made a deal," Frank announced.

"How are you here?" Laurel asked Patricia in a shaky voice. "You're not an Angel anymore."

"Oh, but I am," Patricia said calmly. She wasn't happy to have been discovered here, but it could have been worse. It could have been Bobby, or Castiel. Laurel, she could handle. "Raguel made me an Angel again," Patricia continued.

"I didn't know Archangels could do that," Laurel said, astonished.

"Archangels can do many things," Patricia said to the girl. "You just haven't seen a good example of one. Gabriel is a disgrace to the Exalted status of Archangel. He is a drunken and depraved ne'er-do-well, with the morals of a gutter rat."

Laurel's eyes widened. "But, he seems so nice."

"Of course he's nice," Patricia said slyly. "All of the best con men are."

"Well, it doesn't matter. You shouldn't be here," Laurel stated matter-of-factly. "And what are you doing at the Confidential file cabinet?" She moved forward. "I'm calling Bobby."

"No, wait," Patricia said hastily. "Let me ask you something, Laurel. Where IS Bobby right now?"

"He's on Earth. He got an emergency call from Frank," Laurel responded. She wasn't sure why she was telling Patricia this. It was really none of her business. But Laurel had worked for the occupants of the High Office for years now, Patricia had once been God, and old habits died hard.

"Of course. Of course he did," the older Angel said, nodding slowly. She was very careful with her tone, though, because she knew that Laurel had quite a bit of affection for Bobby. But Patricia had an idea now. She could see it in Laurel's face. "Let me ask you something else, Laurel. Did Bobby ever offer to revive Chuck, before he stuck him away in the alcove, to be forgotten?"

Laurel was shocked. "No, but..."

"Yet, Dean Winchester was killed in the battle to defeat Lucifer, and now, he lives," Patricia said, pressing her point. "And so does Castiel, even though he died in Egypt. So how do you suppose it's possible that the two of them live, but your husband does not?"

It had been a calculated risk, but it seemed to be paying off. Laurel started to cry.

"I don't know," she said after a moment. "Everybody always talks about Jody. Jody, Jody, Jody. And don't get me wrong, I liked Jody, and I feel badly for them, I really do, but...nobody even mentions Chuck anymore! It's like he never even existed! Bobby told me he wasn't in the Garden, but that wasn't particularly surprising, because he'd been in Hell, years ago. And that broke my heart, but I had no choice but to understand, because it was true. But then, I thought about it. Dean Winchester was in Hell, too, and Father sent Castiel to get him! I know that Chuck wasn't a saint. I know that. But, neither are any of the others! Frank was a Knight of Hell. Dean tortured people when he was there. And, Castiel..." But then Laurel closed her mouth with a snap. Maybe she was feeling as if she'd gone too far, Patricia thought with amusement. But, this was perfect. Just perfect.

Patricia laughed contemptuously. "Let me educate you about some home truths, my girl. If they had wanted to, they could have saved Chuck. Castiel has made those kinds of back-room deals before, many times. The simple, unvarnished truth is that they all hated Chuck. Do you think they ever really forgave him for everything he did in the past? Do you? When Castiel was in prison and I gave him a truth serum to get him to confess to his crimes, he told me that he would never, ever forgive Chuck for the past." Patricia was lying through her teeth now, but she also saw an opportunity, and she intended to take it.

Laurel was regarding Patricia dubiously, but the older Angel knew that she was making inroads with Chuck's widow. Planting the seeds of doubt. If Laurel had truly wanted to, she would have called Bobby or Castiel to come here by now. But, Laurel herself still needed a bit of convincing. "But...Bobby's God, now," Laurel said hesitantly, "not Castiel."

Patricia gave her an indulgent look. "Wake up, Laurel. I know that you and Bobby have an affectionate relationship, and I agree that Bobby is a good man. But he is no better than Castiel's puppet. He always has been. If Castiel does not want Chuck back, he will not come back. It's as simple as that. They don't care how you feel about it. If you're not in their precious inner circle, you don't matter. Why do you think that Lucifer was able to rape me, right there in that office? Because I prayed to Castiel, begging him for help, and he turned a deaf ear to my pleas. But I promise you this, Laurel: If Raguel is able to obtain the Book of Life, he will shape Heaven in our Father's image, the way it should be. Without all of these liars, and fornicators, and Sinners. I was here to look for the red file that is labelled 'The Book Of Life'. If we can obtain the Book, we are determined to make that happen, for the benefit of us all. They have been playing by their own rules for far too long, Laurel, and it is all of us who have suffered for it."

"Raguel is the one who murdered Chuck!" Laurel exclaimed, horrified at what Patricia was saying now.

Patricia gambled again. "Who told you that? Castiel? Perhaps he told you that so you would not suspect the truth."

"The truth?" Laurel echoed, alarmed. "What do you mean? What are you saying?"

"Let's see if we can figure it out," Patricia said, with a touch of sarcasm. The idea had just occurred to her, but if it worked, it would be a stroke of genius. And if not, well, Patricia was not making any direct allegations, was she? She was merely hypothesizing, she could claim. It was Laurel who was going to reach her own conclusions. The girl was obviously gullible. After all, Chuck had persuaded her to marry him, hadn't he?

Patricia went on: "The only two supposed eyewitnesses to 'Raguel's' murder of Chuck were Paul and Gail. Correct?"

"Yes," Laurel said hesitantly.

"Paul was once a Demon, in Lucifer's employ," Patricia pointed out. "Yet here he is, in Heaven, going on missions with Exalted Angels. He is the beneficiary of one of Castiel's back-room deals. He will say whatever Castiel directs him to say, in order to be allowed to stay in Heaven. And, as for Gail? Well, what do YOU think?"

Laurel wanted to stand there and tell Patricia that she was a liar, that Laurel and Chuck's friends would never...But then, she thought back to that night. She had been in shock, but she seemed to recall that Bobby and Castiel had already been outside when she'd gotten there, and hadn't they all been exchanging furtive glances? No; that was ridiculous. "Why would Castiel murder Chuck?" she asked Patricia now.

"Chuck was a Prophet, was he not?" Patricia said by way of a reply. "Perhaps he knew something that Castiel did not want known." She was reaching now, but to Patricia's delight, Laurel's mouth fell open. "The letter," Chuck's widow said, dazed.

"What's that, dear?" Patricia asked her. Laurel told her about the envelope that Chuck had said she should deliver to Cas. Laurel had never read its contents.

Patricia nodded, as if she had suspected that all along. "So, you see? Chuck must have trusted Castiel with whatever he saw would happen in the future, and Castiel must not have liked what he read."

"But, Cas didn't receive the envelope until after Chuck was already dead," Laurel pointed out.

Patricia's lips tightened. She had overreached a bit, there. She tried to do some damage control. "Fine. But we don't know what other conversations they may have had, do we? Or maybe Chuck said something to Gail, or to Paul. Didn't Chuck and Paul celebrate their bachelor party on Earth together? Perhaps Chuck said something to Paul then. In any event, it would appear that you have been placing your trust in the wrong people, Laurel. I have seen much over the centuries, and I have been heartbroken to see Heaven deteriorate into what it has become. Bobby means well, but he is too soft-hearted and trusting when it comes to Castiel and Gail. And now, we have the likes of Gabriel and Paul, pulling the wool over his eyes, too. Think about it, Laurel. Paul was a Demon, working for Lucifer. Your poor husband was sent to Hell on a misunderstanding, mainly because the Father took Castiel's word over his. It was Bobby who was good enough to bring Chuck back here where he belonged, after our Father retired. But Castiel never forgave, and he never forgot about any of the perceived slights he had received from Chuck. But there was nothing he could do about it at the time. Meanwhile, Chuck thought that they were his friends. He took up for Castiel when he was being tried for his war crimes, and how did they repay him? By casting him aside, and abandoning you. Isn't that true, Laurel?"

The younger Angel was astonished. That had been quite the speech that Patricia had just made. But it had had the desired effect. The point that Patricia had made about Paul had been an especially sharp one. Laurel couldn't help but contrast the two men. It was as Patricia had said: Chuck hadn't been in Hell for that long in the grand scheme of things, had he? If Bobby had seen fit to ascend him, then that had to count for something, because Bobby was an extremely good, honourable man. Laurel was glad that Patricia wasn't saying anything bad about Bobby, because she wouldn't stand for that. But Patricia was hammering the point home: Castiel, Castiel, Castiel. It all came down to Cas. And there was something else that Laurel knew, which Patricia hadn't mentioned: when Bobby had ascended Chuck, way back when, Laurel remembered that Castiel had stormed into the High Office with Gail traipsing behind him, seething mad that Bobby had done that. That certainly added more credence to what Patricia was saying, didn't it? And Patricia hadn't been here that day; only Laurel had been.

Castiel, Castiel, Castiel. When he had taken the Office, he had told Laurel that he didn't need a receptionist. Why? Had he been plotting against Chuck even back then, and had he not wanted Chuck's girlfriend around because of that? Had he been hiding other things, as well? And how complicit was Gail in all of this? She had supposedly been Chuck's friend too, but was Gail a schemer also, or was she just too intimidated by and attracted to her husband's power and position to speak up for what was right?

Patricia went in for the kill. "If Raguel and I can obtain the Book of Life, we can make everything right again. If you will help us, Laurel, I vow to you that the first thing we will do is to ascend Chuck, to be the One True Prophet again. As he should be. Then the two of you can have the marriage that you deserve. The one that you were denied. All I need is that red file. Will you help me?"

Laurel approached Patricia slowly, scrutinizing the woman's face. She moved past Patricia to stand behind the reception desk. Her hand hovered. The drawer, or the telephone? Shouldn't she call Bobby right now, and let him decide what to do? But, Bobby was with Castiel.

Laurel got the keys to Bobby's office out of the drawer, unlocking the door to the High Office.

\- END OF BOOK 40. -


End file.
